Post by tiddles on Jan 28, 2013 16:23:28 GMT 1
From the Tele archives January, 2003
Aw bless him, he really cared about the sick and the poor didn't he? What do you say to that Undertaker?
??
TWO out of five adults in Inverclyde are out of work and claiming incapacity benefit. Now Greenock and Inverclyde MP David Cairns has renewed his call for more government support to help claimants find a job. Speaking in a debate at the House of Commons, Mr Cairns stated that 39 per cent of adults of working age in his constituency are not employed - and are not looking for a job. The Scottish average is just 27 per cent. Mr Cairns is lobbying ministers to have Inverclyde included in a pilot scheme designed to help people on incapacity benefit find work. He has already had a private meeting with Nick Brown, the minister for work, and questioned the under-secretary Malcolm Wicks in the House. Now, he has asked government minister Hazel Blears to include the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency in the 'Pathways to Work' pilot scheme. Mr Cairns said: 'In my constituency two in five adults of working age are economically inactive. This means they are neither in work nor looking for work. 'I urge the minister to do all she can to ensure that one of the six pilot schemes is located in Inverclyde. 'People on incapacity benefit are currently entitled to around £80 per week. 'However, in work, even on the national minimum wage and tax credits they could earn up to £229 per week, which is a big difference. 'This extra help, if it is available, may not solve all our problems, but it will go some way to helping those who have been written off under the current system.'
Aw bless him, he really cared about the sick and the poor didn't he? What do you say to that Undertaker?
??