David Warburton, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Somerton and Frome, last month met with Ivor and Pam Dixon, founders of the Somerton and Langport Jobs Club and heard of the problems facing job seekers.
On Friday, he brought the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to Somerton in order to hear first-hand the issues facing local job seekers in the area. Somerton and Langport’s job seekers have to travel to Yeovil and Taunton Job Centres in order to sign on and find work. They also have to travel lengthy distances for interviews. These can be long and expensive journeys, and can prevent rurally isolated people from finding work.
David introduced Mr Duncan Smith to Ivor and Pam Dixon who run a variety of organisations in the area to help get local unemployed people back to work and provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to remain in long-term employment. Iain Duncan Smith also talked to local job seekers at Somerton Methodist Church about their experiences.
The Secretary of State resolved to contact local Job Centre managers in person and advise them to offer their Outreach Programme to the local area. This will mean the Job Centres will travel to the job seekers, not the other way around. He confirmed that he would ask for a meeting between the regional Job Centre manager and David Warburton to get this set up.
Additionally, he suggested that David Warburton talk to the Job Centres in order that they offer their Flexible Support Fund to local people, providing them with direct financial help to attend job interviews.
David Warburton said “I’m very pleased that some of the acute problems facing those who genuinely are looking for work and support in our area can be resolved. When people face local problems, it is often most productive to go straight to the top and get action. This seems to have given us some good results.”
He continued, “Ivor and Pam Dixon work tirelessly to support unemployed people in Somerton and Langport, and help those who have lost their jobs to get back into the workforce. I will do everything possible to support the vital work they do, and I look forward to meeting local Job Centre managers to discuss the solutions suggested by the Secretary of State right here in Somerton.”