Labour Government freezes recruitment to unemployment programmes as city jobless rates hit 1 in 6

12.40.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 29th Jun 2009

Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman for Newcastle East Greg Stone has expressed concern at the news that the Labour government has effectively suspended any further recruitment to its New Deal programmes. No new recruitment will now take place to the Government's flagship employment initiative until later in the autumn, although there are fears that this could be further delayed.

Greg Stone, who is chair of the successful Newcastle Futures employment initiative which has helped hundreds of people into work in the city, said "Questions need to be asked as to why recruitment has been suspended for weeks if not months at a time when claimant count is rising rapidly and unemployment is becoming a major political concern again. I accept that a new Flexible New Deal programme is set to be introduced later in the year, but I am concerned that this delay is indicative of poor management and budgetary problems on the part of DWP. My understanding from speaking to local organisations is that this is likely to cause cashflow difficulties for training providers who will be left in limbo, and will mean that unemployed people may not have access to the help they need in the interim."

"Coming days after the DWP launched a fraud investigation into one of the major providers of New Deal contracts, there is growing concern that the government's flagship policy is increasingly in disarray".

"Given that the overall May 2009 unemployment rate in Newcastle East stands at 9% and in nearby Tyne Bridge constituency stood at a very worrying 1 in 6 adult males (12% overall), now is not the time to suspend programmes providing assistance to people experiencing unemployment, even temporarily."