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Jobless to be offered work with Scottish Government

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Published Date: 29 April 2009
MORE jobs in the Scottish Government are to be opened up to unemployed people, it was announced today.
Measures could include mentoring, placements, and training.

The moves are intended to help youngsters and adults facing the biggest difficulties in finding work, such as lone parents and disabled people.

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop announc
ed the move at a "welfare to work" summit in Stirling, where Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy also spoke.

In a sharp criticism of the Scottish Government, he defended the "efficiency savings" planned for spending in Scotland next year and attacked "irresponsible" complaints over this by the SNP.

Ms Hyslop said the Government had signed Scotland's first "local employment partnership" with job centres.

The agreements enable employers to choose ways of helping the most disadvantaged find work.

These can range from pre-employment and on-the-job training to reviewing recruitment procedures.

"By signing this local employment partnership, the Scottish Government is demonstrating its commitment to help those with increased barriers to employment get into work," she said.

"People are our most valuable resource and I am determined to ensure that everyone in our society has the opportunity to get into work or back into work so that they can contribute to Scotland's future economic success and help it recover from the current downturn."

Mr Murphy told the summit of a £95 million programme announced earlier this week to provide employment or training for under-25s who have been on Jobseekers' Allowance for a year.

The programme will create 15,000 jobs, and came on top of other measures announced for Scotland in Chancellor Alistair Darling's budget, he said.

He went on to argue that the cuts in next year's Scottish budget – Labour puts the figure at £367 million while the SNP said it is nearly £500 million – should be achievable.

The Scottish Government had seen its budget doubled to £34.8 billion after a decade of devolution and Westminster is also spending £22.5 billion in Scotland on reserved matters like defence and welfare, Mr Murphy said.

"For the Scottish Government to constantly complain about cuts while we are increasing investment in public services, including their budget, is to pursue an argument based on political dogma in denial of the facts," he said.

"It is wholly irresponsible and of no help to Scots trying to cope with recession.

"Scots are entitled to better than this, rightly expecting their politicians to work together during the downturn."



Page 1 of 1

 
1

Ewan Randall,

29/04/2009 12:38:14
More MSPs?
2

Ewan Randall,

29/04/2009 12:39:38
With expenses?
3

Linda,

Edinburgh 29/04/2009 12:50:54
I fail to see the SNP response in the above report:

“The UK Government are also making the wrong choices for the longer-term. We need to change the profile of public spending by scrapping unnecessary, unaffordable, ‘white elephant’ projects such as the Trident replacement and ID cards – not by slashing front-line services like health and education, and capital investment.



“The reality is that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are proposing real terms cuts in Scotland’s budget above and beyond even the scale imposed by Margaret Thatcher. It is clear that the Iron Lady’s legacy is safe in New Labour’s hands.



“A clear choice has emerged from the ashes of Alistair Darling’s devastating budget.



“The SNP Government want the required savings to be made by the UK Government abandoning its foolhardy £25 billion plan to replace the Trident nuclear missile, saving up to £100 billion over its lifetime. And we are also calling on Labour to drop their proposals to spend £5 billion on unwanted and unnecessary ID cards.



“The people of Scotland have the opportunity to vote on these choices at next month’s European elections, and in the General Election next year. The people will choose between the UK Government’s attack on education and health spending, and the SNP Government’s call to ditch the Trident replacement programme and ID cards.



“Labour are presiding over the first real terms fall in Scotland’s public spending since the dark days of the Tories’ spending plans in the 1990s, which will be hugely damaging to jobs and services.



“The UK Government’s catastrophic financial failure underlines the need for Scotland to have responsibility to run our own affairs – with the ability to take the decisions needed to reflate our economy, contribute to recovery, and overcome the Downing Street downturn.”



4

MoClana,

29/04/2009 13:02:12
Uh !!I clicked on this article to see what new job initiatives were being announced by the Scottish Goverment....but from line 7 the article descends into an anti SNP farce???

With of course free press for Murphy without any counter argument from the Scottish Goverment.

Apart from the fact it is annoying to click on one story, just to be given a totally unrealted one, it is also insulting !

Does this paper actually believe that it is hiding this fact?

Despair

Saor Alba
5

Baron Von MunchenBurger,

Banks of the Rhein 29/04/2009 13:47:43
At Last! I was getting worried about the Hootsmon, been looking all day for an anti SNP Rant. Glad to see they are back on form. Can't really comment on the article as I gave up about two words after "Sharp Criticsm..."

And who penned this rubbish? Too ashamed to place their name on it?
6

W Smith,

Middle East 29/04/2009 14:00:04
So, according to SNP, the UK can't afford Trident but Scotland can afford to welcome more immigrants even as the native Scots are losing their jobs.

Nothing like joined up thinking, eh Alex?

And this in nothing like joined up thinking!
7

,

29/04/2009 14:51:58
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
8

PaulW,

Borders 29/04/2009 15:39:23
W Smith (immigrant from a Middle East national perspective). I know you have moved to another country, but clearly you lost your marbles in transit which now appear to have found a home on another planet.

Scotland does not want Trident. The assembled throng of the Members of the Scottish Parliament do not want Trident. Scottish MPs (most of whom are Labour) voted against the new Trident.

As Alasdair says, we will never use it and can't do so without US support, so it is neither relevant or truly independent anyway. The ideal metaphor for "Scottish" Labour really.
9

alanh,

ek 29/04/2009 16:03:38
the standard of nu liebore, north brittian dept, politicians is really going downhill.
At a time when we are all facing a real terms cut in our budget they simply cant work WITH our govt to try to announce the positive side of things. Instead he hijacks this meeting to try to run our govt down to try some electioneering.
Who is it picking fights now Mr Murphy????????

Altho as usual, this nu liebore mouthpiece just parrot his words without question
Has anyone seen any detail of his masterplan and how he will allocate the money or where the jobs and training places will come from?
These 15000 jobs. What type of jobs? Will there be any possibility of the people on these training courses or temp jobs being kept on at the end of the year's training(is it?)? What sort of salary scale are we talking or is it simply minimum wage or less?
Anyone got a decent link to the proposal cos I keep seeing/reading and hearing about it but cant find any detail, altho that could be down to my lack of comp knowledge
10

alanh,

ek 29/04/2009 16:09:17
meant to add to #9 above

the nu liebore announcement simply looks like a new Employment training scheme or YTS program.
ie CHEAP workers to ensure that wages can be cut from the rest of us.
Are these posts being subsidised by central govt? If they are real jobs, does that not mean that some employers will simply use this to cut staff numbers and normal recruitment to save themselves some cash?
11

P Rayner.,

London. 29/04/2009 17:04:07
In so far as Britains nuclear deterrent is concerned there are a number of commonly held views that are simply incorrect . From first to last Britains deterrent is independent , the firing of which resides with the British government alone . Mr Darling may or may not have said that it will never be used . If he did he , unlike me , cannot predict the future . What can be said is that if the system has to be used then it has failed to deter . That is has not been used thus far indicates its deterrent value . If in this world you choose to go naked then someone , somewhere will surely challenge you . If you look at other nuclear nations , Israel , Iran , Pakistan , North Korea et al , do you really suppose it sensible to abandon Britains ? Oh , the Scots don´t want Britains nuclear deterrent . Really , how can you know ?
12

Brianwci,

29/04/2009 18:26:02
#4 MoClana: Uh !!I clicked on this article to see what new job initiatives were being announced by the Scottish Government....but from line 7 the article descends into an anti SNP farce???

Absolutely Mo. I would have thought London Controlled Labour would be trying to keep quiet about the £1Billion of cuts instead of constantly trying to justify them.

The fact that Scotland's Colonial Governor Murphy continues to pop up laying down the law also shows that Labour has finally dropped the pretence that London Labour doesn't control all its sub offices, including Scotland.
13

Morry,

Scotland 29/04/2009 21:01:10
Quote "
The moves are intended to help youngsters and adults facing the biggest difficulties in finding work, such as lone parents and disabled people".

There is work available in all areas, BUT, there is no incentive for disabled people to go out to work, Who? in their right mind would want to work for less than one great british pound per hour!

"Theraputic employment" you "may" keep the first £20 of your earnings, ANYTHING, you earn over and above that, you pay back to the benefits people, which is fair enough, BUT WHO? in their right mind would spend £20 in petrol in getting to work, only to to be allowed to keep £20 earned, it's a farce!!

The whole sorry system needs to be overhauled, many disabled people don't need "further" incentive, they already have that built in, with a need to work, a desire to work and the only thing that is stopping them is the draconian attitude of the government, who
waste so much money setting up unworkable schemes
proclaiming they are there to help the disabled!

The disabled, need dignity, need reward like any other able bodied person in work, a pay at the end of the day.

There was a time that would not get out of my bed for less than £15 per hour,
nowadays, I am being offered 29p over the minimum wage,
Who are you kidding Mr. Minister / employer?

Disabled or otherwise, there are those who would like to work,
but give them something to work for, rather than humiliate them for trying!!


14

hoblar,

29/04/2009 21:32:01
If £95 million can create 15,00 jobs, just imagine how many could be created by canceling new Trident.
15

hoblar,

29/04/2009 22:32:47
The person from London who believes nuclear weapons have never been used on a civilian population and er, by implication are therefore a deterrent, is mistaken on both counts.

Nuclear Weapons are a waste of money, and the British Government were part of a non proliferation treaty to rid the whole world of them and their enormous wasteful expence and environmental consequence as their expiry date (unused) leaves the disposal problem.

Of course if someone in London wants to campaign to move the nuclear bomb carrying subs from Scotland to the Thames, close to the allegedly decision making Westminster, I have yet to hear it.

I don't believe the British government have unilateral control of the nuclear bombs housed in Scotland.


16

Fairfax,

29/04/2009 23:56:22
hoblar (15): "Of course if someone in London wants to campaign to move the nuclear bomb carrying subs from Scotland to the Thames, close to the allegedly decision making Westminster, I have yet to hear it."

The nuclear weapons on those submarines are, in fact, constructed fairly close to the Thames, in AWRE Aldermaston, in Berkshire. As for the location of the submarines, there's an increasingly strong English wish for those to be relocated to Devonport. Sadly, our Scottish PM has other ideas.
17

hoblar,

30/04/2009 22:26:03
"The nuclear weapons on those submarines are, in fact, constructed fairly close to the Thames, in AWRE Aldermaston, in Berkshire. As for the location of the submarines, there's an increasingly strong English wish for those to be relocated to Devonport. Sadly, our Scottish PM has other ideas."

Well, as you can see from the number of anti nuke responses from Scots on these articles, the majority of scotland doesn't agree with these nuclear weapons being in Scotland, neither does a majority of the Scottish parliament as voted!

Therefore you are making a more vacuous point about Brown being born in Scotland that you can explain or not, who cares, I think I can guess the inane reasoning.

Also, there is a particular reason that NO BRITISH GOVERNMENT wanted to house nukes like this in England, it is related to strategic issues and density of population.

Therefore, since MOST these Prime mInisters in the last 60 years since nukes were invented are actually English, and still chose to house them in Scotland, again your argument holds no water whatsoever.

if you want an England only Government, quit encouraging the unionist parties mate, and lose the Starkey chip in the process, being English will count more than being anti Scottish.



 

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