Mark Lovell's Blog
Having worked in the design and delivery of frontline public services for over 20 years, it's good to share my thoughts on the past, present and future in an ever-changing society. My main areas of focus are:When I left University, over 20 years ago, the career landscape for graduates was very different to the one the latest generation of learners is navigating now. I was perhaps unusual in shunning the job offer I grafted for before … View Complete Post
Steven Nuttall is 50 years old, but he’s never learned to read and write. Unemployed for the last decade, he’s picked up a range of odd-jobs during his life, like selling popcorn and working on the fairgrounds, but never enough … View Complete Post
Just before the turn of the year the Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions produced a joint analysis of the criminal records of benefit claimants. This was the first joint report of its kind. If you missed … View Complete Post
By coincidence a lot of the work I was doing last week began to focus on ‘older people’. Some of this, as you would expect, concerned unemployment amongst the over 50s. My parents and my in-laws have all faced, or … View Complete Post
So we’re back after Christmas; will 2012 bring improvements in our personal financial situations? Twice a year we sample our consumers, many of whom are out of work or have just entered the labour market, on a range of issues. … View Complete Post
Christmas can be a tough time if you’re out of work. Decisions on hiring will slow down in the latter part of December before picking up again in the second part of January. So, how can this time be used … View Complete Post
There has been a lot of coverage in the last week or so on the back of the payday loan market. Radio 4 had a crack at it on Today and Which! released the outcome of its investigation into the … View Complete Post
The FT ran another gloomy article on the prospect for Work Programme suppliers yesterday. This one picked up on the Office for Budget Responsibility and other reports coming out following the Autumn Statement. The economy is tough – we all … View Complete Post
Neil O’Brien wrote an interesting piece in the Telegraph (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/neilobrien1/100116574/we-should-welcome-this-experiment-with-workfare/) recently, on the announcement by the government (http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/community-work-for-job-seekers/) about the plan to introduce compulsory work experience after Work Programme. I have been involved in delivering, managing and, in some cases, designing community … View Complete Post
Today marks the launch of Labour’s Business – a snappy pamphlet outlining a clear set of measures the Labour party needs to adopt if it is to start taking enterprise seriously. I am delighted that the editors, Alex Smith and … View Complete Post
