New analysis from Labour reveals there are now 46,415 people either claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) or furloughed in Haringey, as Haringey Labour Leader Cllr Joseph Ejiofor calls for more powers for councils to help prevent a jobs crisis this Spring.

As of the end of December 2020, 25,400 Haringey residents have been furloughed, and 21,015 have claimed JSA. This situation is replicated across the country, and there are 1,135,000 people on furlough or JSA in London alone.

Labour in local government is calling for greater freedom and support to boost local jobs markets including:

·     Help councils make jobs their number one priority – devolving and funding the delivery of employment services so that councils can use local knowledge to get people into work

·     Target economic recovery support where it is needed most – ensuring that the areas hit hardest by coronavirus receive the most help

·     Build back better – require economic support to use social value commissioning and procurement to promote better work, wages, and access to skills

·     Stop wasting money on expensive private consultants – direct funding only to accountable public bodies such as councils and local community groups, instead of prioritising friends and donors of the Conservative Party

·    Devolve decision making to local level – decision making on stimulus projects should be taken away from Whitehall and handed to local and regional government.

Cllr Joseph Ejiofor, Leader of Haringey Council said,

 “The first priority for Haringey has to be to deliver the vaccine and beat the virus – but we’ve also got to do much more to avert a deepening jobs crisis this Spring.

 

“There are now over 46,000 people in Haringey either claiming job seekers allowance or on furlough – that’s more than 46,000 desperate to work. We can all see that the next few months are hugely uncertain – we have no idea how and when many of these jobs will come back. Councils want to do everything we can to fire local economies and create opportunities. Since 2019 our Community Wealth Building agenda has helped create a more resilient borough with jobs and opportunities for residents and support for local businesses, but Coronavirus has presented an unprecedented new challenge.

 

“From Test and Trace to PPE we’ve seen government make the wrong calls throughout this crisis because they have repeatedly refused to trust local communities to take decisions that work for their area.

 

“There is no justification for the government handing out millions to expensive and poor value for money private consultants when councils and community groups have the local knowledge, the networks, and the on the ground understanding and up to date information you need in a crisis – that’s why government should give us the space we need to fight for local jobs.

 

“Instead of relying on top-down decision making and cronyism for our Coronavirus recovery, let’s harness the local expertise in our communities and give the families who have taken a battering this last year the best chance to rebuild their lives.”