Below is a transcript of an e-mail that I sent earlier this afternoon to my local Member of Parliament, Nick Boles, about the discrepancies in the benefits system and the altogether fantastic notion that I am being sidelined by the government as "youth unemployment" (despite defined as a youth myself) takes priority. There seems to be a sense that people who are in committed relationships must therefore be dependent upon one another, irrespective of that person's financial commitments. We shall see whether my complaint goes any further than an expression of an apology and to be left in the dark once again.
Dear Mr Boles,
Having just come off the telephone from three different organisations - Jobcentre Plus / Citizens' Advice Bureau / Entitled To - I am under the impression that I am being wholly disadvantaged by a benefits system that seems to suggest partners are reliant on one another. I was rejected from claiming National Insurance based JSA and then spoke to the CBA and Entitled To, both of whom informed me that the information provided by the Jobcentre (that I wasn't entitled to JSA) was incorrect because there was a second tier - Income-Based JSA. I have, however, been informed that because I live with my partner and she works more than the maximum earnings per week, I cannot claim either JSA or Working Tax Credits.
Since my partner works for a nursery as relief staff and her hours vary wildly and earns much less than the national average, it seems grossly unfair to me that I cannot find a job in a volatile market and am punished financially for being in a committed relationship. People are not dependent on one another for financial support and this is certainly not the case for my own situation. I find that there is a grave injustice in the benefits system that seems to reward people who claim separately, despite being in a relationship versus those who may live together and yet are independent in their financial situation.
I must urge you as my Member of Parliament to raise the issue and do more as the government to resolve this issue. I have made more than fifty applications to different jobs and had one interview, for which I subsequently had no response. The government's "Youth Contract" scheme is, in itself, weighted to those who are claiming Jobseekers Allowance and therefore able to support themselves financially while taking work placements and work experience and unfairly disadvantages people who have come out of university into a saturated job market without any hope of a job in an extremely competitive industry. Revelations over the past year that upwards of twenty-five people apply for every job is indicative of the challenge I face in finding a job.
I appreciate that you taken the time out to offer me some work experience in the House of Commons for which I am entirely grateful but I cannot help but feel like the government's priority of cutting the deficit and austerity measures is leaving the country reeling for the effects on the job market. It makes more financial sense to promote job growth in order to reduce reliance on the state welfare system than it does to cut and cut without any indication that it has had a positive effect on us. Our double-dip recession is surely indicative that we must focus on job growth now.
What exactly is the government doing in order to help ensure graduate students like myself are able to find jobs? It seems like we are being left in the lurch as the government pushes to help "youth unemployment" but ignores people who have spent thousands of pounds to further their careers, only to discover that they don't actually have any career lined up.
Sincerely,
Ian Caithness
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