26th May 2010

Responding to the confirmation by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the House today that the Future Jobs Fund is being abolished, Yvette Cooper said;

“The Conservative Liberal government are cutting up to 80,000 youth jobs at a time when unemployment is still high.”

"Across the country I've talked to young people starting jobs as housing officers, sports coaches, car mechanics, ground maintenance staff, care workers, lighting technicians and countless other jobs helping local communities, thanks to the Future Jobs Fund. Now these jobs are to be cut.

“Iain Duncan Smith needs to explain how he is going to get people back to work if he is cutting £320m funding for jobs for them to go to.

"The new government has said it wants to implement many of Labour’s welfare reforms that were underway, but instead they are cutting the investment needed to make it work.

"During the election campaign, David Cameron said the FJF was "a good scheme" and both Conservative and Liberal Democrats said they would keep it. Now they have broken their promises and are cutting important job support.”

Notes

• Future Jobs Fund jobs are real jobs at at least the minimum wage and at least six months long. The Labour government had promised and announced funding for 200,000 jobs through the Future Jobs Fund.
• 118,000 of the 200,000 jobs have been confirmed for individual organisations, with 80,000 more pledged, with bids and plans underway.   
• The government has not said how many jobs will be cut, but these proposals imply cutting 40,000 to 80,000 youth jobs this year alone, and many more to be cut next year.