Free bus travel for young jobless rejected by Oxfordshire councillors

10:10am Wednesday 12th December 2012 in Headlines

Labour group leader Liz Brighouse Labour group leader Liz Brighouse

AN idea to give jobless 18 to 24-year-olds free public transport was thrown out by councillors yesterday.

In a motion tabled at yesterday’s full county council meeting, Lib Dem leader Zoe Patrick asked the chief executive and cabinet to look at whether the concessionary travel scheme could include 18 to 24-year-olds who get Job Seekers’ Allowance.

She said: “The reason I have brought this motion to council is for the purpose of doing our best for our young people.”

Mrs Patrick said young people in rural areas often had to pay a large amount of money to get into town centres, and this hindered their chances of getting a job or getting to the job centre.

But cabinet member for transport Rodney Rose said the proposals would cost money the council could ill afford to spend.

He said: “In an era of cuts to things we all value I cannot support this motion.”

But Labour group leader Liz Brighouse said she found it “extraordinary” to hear the motion when Lib Dems in Government had supported the scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance.

She said: “I’ve heard of people using fig leaves to cover their policies but this is one fig leaf too far.

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“It is your Government which has stopped EMA, your Government which has pushed up young unemployment to completely unacceptable levels.”

The motion failed, with all Tories voting against.

Comments(9)

EMBOX1 says...
10:24am Wed 12 Dec 12

But in other news, councillors voted themselves an increase in expense allowances and other perks of the job.

Seriously. Vote these cretins out.

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oxinkytext says...
10:59am Wed 12 Dec 12

Why are you showing a photo of the Labour leader when your article is about a Lib Dem proposal? Bizarre.

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oxinkytext says...
11:03am Wed 12 Dec 12

What has the EMA (a nationally decided policy, on which the county council has no say) got to do with local government policy? Can we stick with the local aspect please instead of dragging in spurious information.

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Wanchai says...
11:11am Wed 12 Dec 12

And it was during your labour government, Liz Brighouse, that colossal debts were built up that could take more than a decade to clear. It was always going to be unpopular for anyone to try to tackle that mess.

Unfortunately leaders seem unwilling to level with people about the real state we're in. Yes the banks were a big part of this but it doesn't get Brown's government off the hook.

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jockox3 says...
11:40am Wed 12 Dec 12

...not to mention that today's figures seem to say that youth unemployment has now fallen to below the level inherited from the last government.

By the way, how is this proposal even a thing worth talking about when all 3-month unemployed on JSA are likely to get free bus travel as a result of central government negotiations directly with the bus companies, as announced yesterday I think by Oxford Bus Company for this area?

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bart-on simpson says...
1:47pm Wed 12 Dec 12

Lady Brighouse, please.

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jockox3 says...
1:49pm Wed 12 Dec 12

I seem to recall she herself eschewed that title, perhaps because people kept referring to her as "Lady Bighouse" :)

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Zoe Anne says...
11:20pm Wed 12 Dec 12

The free bus travel proposed for those unemployed on JSA is only for the month of January!

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Myron Blatz says...
1:31am Thu 13 Dec 12

Maybe the Government should instead pay travel costs to-from work, for those who actually get a job - surely that would be a better incentive? After all, it seems to work for MPs .......

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