John Denham

Welcome to the website of John Denham

John Denham has been representing Southampton Itchen in Parliament since 1992. 

He is currently Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. 

On this website you'll find news about what John's been up to in both Southampton and Westminster. 

You can get in touch with John on constituency issues by following the link below.

 

Scale of job losses for young people revealed

New research by Southampton’s Labour MPs has revealed the potentially devastating impact on Southampton of the government’s cuts to help young people into work.

New projections suggest that hundreds of new jobs for young people in Hampshire will now not be funded, and over 900 further jobs are under threat as a direct result of the Coalition Government’s choice of cuts.

On taking office, the Liberal-Tory government announced it was scrapping Labour’s Young Person’s Guarantee of a place in education, training or a job for every young person after 6 months of unemployment.

The Tories have also announced they will cut £320 million from the Future Jobs Fund, used to fund jobs for young people paying at least the minimum wage.

Figures from the House of Commons library confirm that in Southampton and Hampshire over 900 jobs have already been created because of the Future Jobs Fund.  Labour’s planned 40% increase in the Fund could have created a further 360 jobs.  Not only has the Coalition scrapped any chance of these jobs being created; they have also refused to guarantee the future of current placements after the current financial year.

John said:

“The Tories are betraying our young people.  The only way to cut the deficit in a way that is sustainable is to get more people into work and paying taxes.  Cutting schemes like the Future Jobs Fund mean more people out of work and claiming benefits.  It’s bad economics and bad for our city.”

Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton Test, said:

“The Future Jobs Fund gave young people experience at a real job and- crucially- a real CV.  Previous schemes like the YTS never did that.  Pulling the plug now will be a real blow for young people looking for work and for employers signed up to the scheme, who will now face extra costs for taking on new staff.”