Benefit system ‘fundamentally flawed’
Monday 28th March 2011, 1:57PM BST.
Panel chairman Deputy Geoff Southern
JERSEY’S benefit system is fundamentally flawed, insufficiently funded and completely inflexible, a damning report released today says.
Severe poverty, a lack of support for under 25s, insufficient incentives to work and save and no help with high medical costs that stop people going to the doctor are just a few of the catalogue of problems identified in the document published today by a sub-panel of the Health, Social Security and Housing Scrutiny panel.
The panel. chaired by Deputy Geoff Southern, is now recommending a complete overhaul of the Income Support system and says that minor ‘tweaks’ will simply not cut it.
The report, which was released to States Members today, concludes that there is a number of ‘inherent structural faults’ to the system that require a fundamental rethink.
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I told my uncle in the UK about Jersey paying youngsters £90 a week to sit on their backsides.
His comment was that that was more than his old age pension for working 45 years.
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Roll on this autumn and we can get rid of this total waste of space of a politician.
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Gee, doesnt take much brains to work this out !! If I got £90pw, why would I want to work, seriously !!
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We might need to get the soc sec system re-designed as it clearly doesnt work. I’m not convinced we need a “sub-panel” to tell us that. Smacks of employing a monkey to stand outside to tell you when its raining rather than look out the window. BUT – if we gonna re-design our system.. please please please lets get someproper thought into it and not just use the same local yokal politicians with biased views, inexperience who are more keen to get involved that actually achieve anything. We are not communists or socialists – we dont have party politics – WE DO WHATS BEST FOR THE ISLAND… yeah right..
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Finally its been admiteed there’s flaws. Now stop the talking about it and get it sorted!
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The most glaring “inherent structural fault” in the benifits system is the one that requires the tax payer to pay out more to the unemployed than they would earn if employed.”The English Way”
What the electorate needs is “facts”, not lies and spin. Who are the unemployed? (Local people of immigrants). Are they permitted to turn down job offers?…..lots of employers are finding it difficult to fill vacancies. Why is our government allowing people to pour into the island by the boat and plane load? Why o why is the minimum wage set so low in this very expensive island yet school leavers must be paid that same minimum wage when they know nothing and have no dependants?
I was impressed with the postings from people in the education field, fighting back against what has been claimed of our state schooling in recent days. They gave us FACTS, INFORMATION, INFORMED AUGUMENT AND A PASSIONATE REPOST. Frankly, I don’t trust any of the mainstream media reports, our polititions are asleep and the civil service love to hide behind their cloak of secrecy. So the daily torrent of “failings in the system” just goes on and on and on.
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That should be “local people OR immigrants”
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Message for James (Post No. 1 above): The impression given by two news reports last Tuesday (CTV and JEP) that all young unemployed can receive £90 per week simply for registering is totally misleading and inaccurate. I complained to CTV last week about this, saying that I suspected (based on my own local knowledge) that a significant number of the unemployed, particularly the young, are not actually receiving any Income Support. I also e-mailed Deputy Gorst to ask for further statistics on this to back up my case.
In short, neither CTV nor Gorst bothered to reply to me but last Friday, when the latest monthly unemployment statistics were released to the Press, CTV reported that 980 of the registered unemployed were receiving Income Support. As there were 1,470 registered unemployed last month, a simple calculation confirms that A THIRD of the registered unemployed are NOT receiving any Income Support. Surely this should be a headline in itself- almost 500 registered unemployed not receiving a penny.
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I think people need to be careful when talking about severe poverty.
Whilst I agree there are many families in Jersey that live in conditions that are far from ideal, for whatever reason, I doubt they are living in severe poverty.
Having been to many parts of Africa and India, I find it rather distasteful to compare those people (people in Jersey) to children dying on the streets of starvation. That’s severe poverty!
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No s**t Sherlock! I believe this guy’s nickname is Duracell AAA. Maybe he will be seeking benefits in the autumn.
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I have been about a bit too and I am amazed at the levels of poverty in this island. Local people and bankers either d not know or do not care. There is some of the worst housing I have seen in Europe, the lowest wages in relation to cost of lving, the largest difference between rich and poor and above all the most complacency and arrogance.
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8 Jerry Gosselin – A THIRD of the registered unemployed are NOT receiving any Income Support. Surely this should be a headline in itself- almost 500 registered unemployed not receiving a penny
Jerry I’m sure there’s a good reason for this, they have probably worked and paid tax & social for years therefore annulling their entitlement. Worse still, they may own their own homes and be required to sell the home they have struggled to buy and only when the money runs out will they be entitled to money from the pot they’ve paid into for 30 or 40 years.
We need a breakdown of these figures, what are the entitlement criteria?
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There’s no point moaning about the youngsters who have given up hope of work UNTIL the unemployment level falls to what it was back in the 80s when less than 100 people were out of work.
Until then, what jobs that ARE available are being filled, so it doesn’t really matter if a specific youth is out of work – he/she is allowing someone else to get one of the few jobs going.
If the ‘layabout’ was to get a job, then someone else would have to miss out.
It makes me laugh that the senior generation are blaming the youngsters for this situation, when it’s the more mature folk who have messed up the world in the first place! What a legacy to pass on!!
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Don’t you just love the way in which every article about Geoff Southern carries the most unflattering photograph of him.
However, I suspect that the usual one of T. Le S. is the best they have available!
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At Paul no: 11 what have local bankers got to do about it. I am quite insulted by your coment. I am a local banker, also a single mum who works full time and claims nothing.
My taxes pay and support these people. Many of whom are lazy and ignorant money grabbers. My Bank also puts a large amount of funding into Jersey as a whole and has a massive corporate social responsibility to the Islands.
Suggest you research your subject better next time.
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Maybe if most of your ‘front of house’ employees in the social security weren’t so rude and racist towards locals!!!!
We genuinely needed help last year and out of about 6 people we saw only one who was not rude and had a bit of an idea of what he was doing or how to treat people with a bit of courtesy.
The way that most of the staff use the sign in social security to hide behind after they have insulted, been rude to and turned their noses up at.. you know the one that states you will be removed for abusive intimidating behaviour (or something of the sort) Quite frankly I am not surprised people kick off at them their attitude towards people really stinks ( and yes I complained ) one ‘woman’ was so clued up (not) she asked me for a bank statement for an online savings account hilarious!!
I even printed off a date range for that previous two years to the current date of my online banking of the said online account and this woman still had no clue and she was a supervisor/team leader And extremely rude!!!! I hope she never comes to me for a job or finds herself in the predicament where she needs a bit of help!
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“*Mulvie Le Phew
8 Jerry Gosselin – A THIRD of the registered unemployed are NOT receiving any Income Support. Surely this should be a headline in itself- almost 500 registered unemployed not receiving a penny
Jerry I’m sure there’s a good reason for this, they have probably worked and paid tax & social for years therefore annulling their entitlement. Worse still, they may own their own homes and be required to sell the home they have struggled to buy and only when the money runs out will they be entitled to money from the pot they’ve paid into for 30 or 40 years.
We need a breakdown of these figures, what are the entitlement criteria?”
THAT is exactly that situation I am in !!
Am I supposed to loose my home etc that I have worked hard all my life for before they will help ….??
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“gotta rant on” the banking system in J is based on tax evasion/aviodance on a massive scale, it is stealing money from the UK and and as a whole J is parasitic on the UK as it doesnt train anybody to do the jobs it needs.
When the banks leave (which they will) perhaps J will enjoy a more equitable society
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guess i can hope to be a road sweeper or bin man, a job that i could do till i am 68 ?
if the banks went i am doomed, and leaving is not a option.
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I can see quite a few old people being forced in to part time employment.
I know one woman who thought that she could live quite comfortably on the interest on her not inconsiderable life savings until her pensions came due and travel cheaply.
With deposit interest rates now on the floor she is working a few days a week in a convenience store and hoping for better times.
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