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Moray Universal Credit claimants figures on the up


By Alan Beresford

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THE number of people claiming Universal Credit (UC) has risen again with over 6700 in the region now on the benefit.

Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP. Picture: mimsdavies.org.uk
Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP. Picture: mimsdavies.org.uk

The latest figures released by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) reveal that 6731 people in Moray were claiming UC, up from 6550 in January.

The area served by Buckie Jobcentre Plus saw the number of UC claimants rise increase from 2019 to 2062, while in Elgin the figure now stands at 3871 from 3753 in January.

Meanwhile, in Forres a jump of 33 new claimants leaves their numbers standing at 1189.

The number of young people aged 16-24 on UC at those Jobcentres has gone up by 45 to 1295.

Some Jobcentres have customers who live outside the Moray area, hence the higher overall total of these figures.

Across Scotland, UC claimant figures were also on the up, with a hike of just under 11,000 to 488,553 from 477,723 although unemployment is down 4000 on the quarter at 114,000.

Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP said: “Today’s figures highlight the challenges facing us on our road to recovery, but there is reason for optimism with more workers on payrolls and over half a million vacancies out there.

“The UK government’s Plan for Jobs is delivering for people of all ages right across Scotland and the rest of country, and with the recruitment of over 800 work coaches and the launch of our £22m Job Entry Targeted Support, we’re helping even more Scots back into work as we push to build back better.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack added: “[It is] one year since the UK went into lockdown, and we know that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the labour market.

"These figures show the scale of the challenge we face to rebuild our economy - and throws into sharp relief just how irresponsible it is of the Scottish Government to prioritise planning for an independence referendum over securing our economic recovery. We need to focus on creating and protecting jobs.

“Over the past year, the UK government has taken decisive action to support jobs and livelihoods across the whole of the UK. In the 2021 Budget, we pledged to take these measures further - extending furlough, self-employed schemes, the Universal Credit uplift and VAT cuts for the hardest hit sectors.

"We have committed to provide the Scottish Government with an additional £14 billion since the start of the pandemic.

“As the success of the UK government-funded vaccine programme allows us to plan for the gradual re-opening of our economy, the strength and stability provided by the Union has never been more important.”

In Moray, the DWP currently have 37 job vacancies in Moray, covering a variety of job roles from care, administration, catering and teaching on the Find a Job portal.

Check out @JCPinNorthScot on Twitter for more job information.

The DWP are working with Moray Pathways and Partners to set up a Youth Hub within Moray Youth Café in Elgin. This will be where Young People who require support to get closer to or into work can attend to receive services from a range of organisations to support their employability and well-being needs. The aim is that this will be open in May this year.

DWP staff in Moray are working closely with the PACE redundancy team to support redundant individuals upskills/retrain and seamlessly move from redundancy into work. Thirteen applications for Rapid Response funding were completed within the last month.

For young people especially, a lack of work experience can be a barrier to stepping on to the jobs ladder. Through the Kickstart scheme, new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds are being funded by the DWP, with work coaches referring young people to prospective employers who are able to spread the start date of job placements over the next year. In the Moray area local employer are offering 68 Kickstart placements.



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