Keir Starmer is determined to Get Britain Working. It is a key plank in his growth strategy. Last autumn the government rolled out their plans. There is a focus on overhauling disability benefits and
improving mental health support. At heart, they say, it is about tackling inactivity and equipping younger people with new skills.
By the latest count, 9.3 million working-age people in the UK are economically inactive, while a further 1.57 million are unemployed; 2.8 million are out of work due to long-term sickness. The drive to slash benefits traces its roots back to this: a desire to get people back into work, and work that pays well. The last time a government made similar noises on this scale, Iain Duncan Smith introduced his universal credit plan in 2010.
Reasons for inactivity are varied. A high percentage of those under 25 listed as not working are students. Among 25- to 49-year-olds, 1.1 million people are not working because they have caring responsibilities. Around a million of them are women. As plans to change mindsets grow there is a problem in the moment. Companies are shedding jobs. Meanwhile, despite a large number of vacancies, graduates
struggle to find work.
How deep does the jobs crisis run? And where will new jobs be found? In this special report, Big Issue investigates whether Britain is working, what’s holding back those who want to work, and how organisations including Big Issue Recruit can deliver solutions.
Read more in this week’s Big Issue.
What else is in this week’s Big Issue?
‘There’s no word to describe your daughter competing in the Olympics, getting a medal. Oh, just talking to you I have tears in my eyes’
Fred Siriex has gone from catering college to First Dates, the jungle to celebrating an Olympic medal in the family. He goes through his life story in this week’s Letter to My Younger Self.
