In an attempt to help stop the increase in unemployment, Gordon Brown has promised to help half a million people back into work or training.

According to Mr Brown, employers will be given £2,500 for every person they train who has been unemployed for the past six months. He also promised that communities would not be forgotten. Though with 1.8 million people currently looking for work, the Tories are saying the governments job package doesn’t go far enough.

The Prime Minister set out his plans at the Science Museum in London, to prepare Britain sectors such as environmental technology, advanced manufacturing, education and healthcare.

In his speech, he said: “Failure to act now and to do so in coordination with our international partners would mean a deeper and longer global recession.
“It would mean temporary rises in unemployment becoming permanent. It would mean as in the past whole communities written off, and that would mean lasting damage to our economy and a bigger bill to pay in the future. And this will not happen on my watch.
“We cannot always prevent people losing their jobs but we can help people finding their next jobs.”

His audience consisted of some who had been unemployed for three months or more, were told they would get help, including ‘extensive’ job interview training, and would have to sign on weekly for benefit payments.

The scheme has been set up primarily to help those who have been unemployed for six months or more. The Work and Pensions Secretary said: “What we have learned from previous recessions is we need to make sure people don’t feel out of touch with the labour market…
“We don’t want to waste a generation of people, as has happened in the past.”

 A five-point plan has been created by the Federation of Small Business, to form up to 400,000 new jobs. Some of the measures it is asking for include the promotion of part-time working, simplified regulation and lower taxes. Other requests include an investment in apprenticeships and more opportunity for small businesses to bid for government contracts.

Union leaders present at the summit will ask for more job creation programmes, on the other hand, environmental campaigners will want a higher investment in energy efficiency.

Unite’s joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, has welcomed attempts to create new jobs, but has said there needs to be more focus on protecting existing jobs, especially in car manufacturing.

He said: “The businesses are basically sound. It’s a question that they have a cash-flow problem.
“Commercial loans are difficult or more difficult through banks who don’t appear to be passing on the advantage the government has given them.
“And the government needs to step in to ensure that these particularly skilled jobs are not lost because once lost they’ll never return.”

The Conservative party are criticising the governments plan as having no substance, claiming they are trying to cover up the fact that the recession policies aren’t working.