Benefits top-up to tackle Newham jobs dilema

People on benefits will be offered a top-up of their payments if they return to employment and find they are worse off in work, as part of a new employment pilot scheme

Can life get any easier? The new scheme, to be rolled out in Newham, will provide a housing benefit top up for up to a year - at present, the law only allows for an extension of four weeks.

Newham has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and, it appears, has problems convincing some residents to get back to work. Or why else would it need a scheme to entice people to find jobs and earn a living like everybody else?

Newham council says the employment pilot scheme will help participants overcome the psychological and physical barriers associated with returning to employment.

It would be interesting to know what psychological barriers prevent one from going back to working.