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VAL SHAWCROSS

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29 June 2011

Val Shawcross
London Assembly Member for Southwark & Lambeth

Like thousands of others, my husband has just lost his civil service job through redundancy. 

This time he won't appear on the unemployment statistics because he  is not eligible for Job Seekers’ Allowance  and therefore won't be 'signing on' . The fact is that as ‘benefits’ become more restricted there will be more individuals, especially those in their 50s and 60s who will, in fact, be unemployed but not showing on the statistics.

This at the time when the Government is keen to push up the official retirement age to 66 for everyone. There's going to be growing income gap - people unable to earn and living off their savings for the ten or more years between when they are pushed out of work and when they can claim state and public sector pensions.

At the other end of the age range is a generation who are being even worse hit by government cuts and recession.  In FE colleges and schools around London, a young generation are looking at their expectations of their future careers being washed away. Going to university will be a massive and fearful cost for too many students, with universities – including our local South Bank University - pushing for maximum fee levels.

The prospect of leaving university with at least £27,000 debt plus debts from living expenses in a city where part time work has dried up too, is going to put off thousands of young people from further study. Yet to get many jobs in London you do need to be educated to at least A level. The job market here demands a higher level of qualification than ever before. 

The younger and older generations of Southwark have been let down by this government and I hope that people have realised that politics does make a difference - sometimes for the worse. The most effective thing an 18-year-old can do is get registered to vote when the new register come so round in October and vote in their own interests when the next election comes round in May.

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Comments (1)

1. At 09:53 AM on 30 Jun 2011, LSBU wrote:
Regarding fees at LSBU, these are the facts: The University will be charging tuition fees of an average of £8,390 per annum from September 2012 onwards for its undergraduate full time programmes. These fees will range from £5,950 for an undergraduate foundation degree at a partner college, to £8,450 for a full time undergraduate degree. The important points to note are: Current students will not be affected by this fee increase. Only new students starting their degree in September 2012 will have to pay the increased fee and will be eligible for the new loan scheme. EU students who start their degree in September 2012 will be subject to the new fee structure and will be eligible for the new loan scheme. International students who start their degree in September 2012 follow the normal international student fee structure. LSBU has invested over £50m in the recent past in modern teaching facilities and this investment programme is continuing with a further £38m ongoing.
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