In reaction to this years unemployment figures among the country’s youth, Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association has said that local goverments know what needs to be done, but "need the powers to make that happen":

"Government departments, national agencies, voluntary organisations and local authorities all work to different targets and agendas, and that can muddy the water and prevent a coherent approach to dealing with the issue of young people who aren’t working or getting any form of training.

"In these tight times all public money has to work as hard as possible. The billions of pounds being paid out each year in benefits is simply money down the drain if ways aren’t found of using that money to help people change their lives for the better. Very few people want to depend on benefits to support their families or put food on the table, but the current system can sometimes work against them."

via eGov monitor