A TOP councillor has defended plans to recruit a worklessness co-ordinator for £35,000 a year.
Clr Tony Woodhead criticised the Kirklees Council move on Thursday.
The Lindley Lib Dem said the money could be better used elsewhere – especially as Kirklees is planning to cut its workforce by many hundreds in the next few years.
But yesterday Clr Peter McBride defended the decision to recruit a worklessness co-ordinator.
The council’s Cabinet member for economic development said: “The number of Kirklees residents claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance has effectively doubled due to the recession.
“More than 40,000 people in Kirklees are claiming out of work benefits and it is essential that we take the lead in addressing this issue.”
The Dalton Labour man added: “One of the council’s top priorities is to narrow the gap between disadvantaged groups and the rest of Kirklees, but at the moment we don’t have staff whose specific job is to develop these initiatives.
“This new post is being partly funded by Job Centre Plus and it will help us to improve our understanding of the current problem and then deliver the most effective means of tackling it.
“Having a full-time, dedicated Worklessness Co-ordinator will help us, and also Job Centre Plus, to increase the income of our residents and reduce the burden of benefit payments. Ultimately this will boost the whole of Kirklees.
“The council’s vast range of anti-recession measures has already protected hundreds of jobs and won praise from central government, but we will never become complacent.
“Helping people back into work is absolutely a core council service and we would be failing the people of Kirklees if we didn’t look into every possible course of action.
“This will be part of the new role, and for anyone to suggest we should just stand back and do nothing to help our struggling residents is frankly insulting.”
