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Thursday, March 29, 2012
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£1.85m COST OF JOBLESS CLOTHES BILL
Unemployed given handouts to spend on new outfits
BY ALEX CAMPBELL AND LUCY ROUE alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
THOUSANDS of out-of-work benefits claimants are being kitted out with new outfits and work gear from high street stores – leaving taxpayers in Staffordshire and Cheshire with a £1.85 million bill. Claimants who secure interviews or land new jobs can buy clothing worth up to £300 from selected stores and then claim the costs back from their Jobcentre. Or job-hunters can be handed vouchers by their local Jobcentre and sent to specific shops. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has spent more than £1.1 million buying clothes for jobseekers in Staffordshire over the past five years. At least £750,000 has been spent in Cheshire over the same period. Almost 19,000 people are currently claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. Former landscaper Roy Baddeley, who has been out of work for five years, was stunned to be reimbursed for the £25 cost of a new pair of boots by the Jobcentre. The 47-year-old, of Clayton, said: “I was told to go out and get myself a pair of boots. I haven’t even worn them yet and they’re still in my shed.
DOLING OUT CASH: Hanley Jobcentre. “I think it would be a good idea if you were offered a job and told you needed some boots before you could start, but it shouldn’t be just willy-nilly.” Job-seeker Steven Buckley went to Matalan to buy clothes for a job interview after being told about the scheme by a friend. The 25-year-old, who lives at the YMCA, in Hanley, said: “I told the Jobcentre that I had an interview coming up and was able to go to Matalan and get some new work trousers, shoes and a shirt. “I felt a lot better going into my interview knowing that I looked smart.” Carly Dale, aged 21, of Hazelhurst Street, Hanley, who has been unemployed since September, said: “It will help people to get a job if they have the right clothes and look smart.
“I want to do NHS work so being smart would help my chances.” The clothing payments are made from the Jobcentres’ advisor discretionary fund (ADF), which also covers travel expenses. The fund paid out £2.5 million in Staffordshire and Cheshire in five years, with about 60 per cent of that on clothes. The ADF has now been replaced by the flexible support fund. Many of the grants are for functional items like work boots, which some firms insist on workers having before job offers. But claimants lining up interviews for office roles can claim full outfits, including suits, shirts and shoes. Clothes can be bought from a range of stores including Matalan and Burton. Staff approving the grants have no way of checking if the claimant already owns the appropriate clothing. A DWP spokesman said: “Any awards made must be appropriate, good value for taxpayers’ money and ensure the recipient can move into work sooner than would otherwise be possible.”
Have you bought new clothes with Jobcentre cash? Email us at letters@ thesentinel.co.uk
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