So, once they have completed these apprenticeships, will they be obliged to get a job? the problem is that it is all too easy to claim benefits at present. The initiative cannot succeed unless the government develops a backbone and takes steps without one eye on the next election. The law must be tightened , so that only deserving cases are cared for by the state.

Hamad Lone, London, England

The Labour Market has been so skewed by government policy that whether you get a job or not is down to New Deal i.e. the government will basically pay the wages of that individual for a year or so.

Unless you have specialist skills, New Deal works against anyone that isn't on it!

Even the NHS Employment website asks, are you on New Deal? (tick box)

Applicant one (on New Deal) Q. do you want the job? A. Er yeah sort of.
Applicant two (not on New Deal) Q. why should we give you the job? A. I'm really keen to get back to work, I'll put in 100% effort! Guess who gets the job?

Billions of pounds are being wasted in this way!!

Then there's incapacity benefit, mothers who must be at home to look after their teenage kids etc, etc....

101 ways to waste money! Ask the government!

Graham Wharton, St. Albans, uk

There seems to be a universal unwillingness to acknowledge that many of our citizens lack the intellectual capacity to do anything other than low level manual work. There isn't a lot of that type of work around and since labouring wages don't match Social Security benefits there is no incentive for men with families to take such work anyway. Further, one can visit technical colleges and view training establishments and see trainees who are very evidently incapable of acquiring skilled competences and it is high time that we as a nation accepted the reality of a great mass of unemployable people.

Ben, SUNDERLAND, England

These so called state benefits the poster above talks about come out of the taxes the recipients have already paid, its called national insurance, which if I am not mistaken is called "insurance" for a reason, however clearly some claimants do take the "michael". However before the government attempt to rectify this problem it should be pointed out that it was they who caused it by instructing the benefits agency to get people off jobseekers allowance and on to incapacity benefit in orger to massage the jobless figures down. How do I know this, a senior manager at a local jobcentre told me and also a relative of who when claiming was asked everytime he signed on if he wanted to go onto incapacity benefit because he was 40% disabled !!! even though this did not stop him working and was actively looking for work.

Alan, Coventry, UK

It's a disgrace that people receiving state benefits are allowed to continue to receive them without challenge. If you take medical insurance and need to claim income support for a medical condition the level of effort exerted by the insurer to get you fit and back to work is extordinary and relentless and it works.

Why wont the government wake up and realise it has a duty to those who pay the tax and make sure only the most needy receive state support.

Martin, London, England

"There should be no “free-riding” on the welfare state, the new Work and Pensions Secretary said yesterday as the Government outlined a “carrot and stick” approach to reform."

No free-riding... unless you happen to be the brother, wife or son of an MP of course... you won't even be reported to the Police for Benefit Fraud.

Steve, London, UK

I am 57, I am a qualified book-keeper, I can take a computer apart then re-assemble it. The computer I use at home I built myself. I have not worked though since 2002. The reason I have not worked is that I have Narcolepsy and Cataplexy.
I would love to have a job but when it comes to medical questions on an application form I have to declare my medical condition. There has only been two employers who did not worry about it but one of them did change their minds.
I have been before the Dept of Work and Pensions medical examiner who said that I was unemployable. Now we have this latest government misguided policy. Am I have to go through all through it again.
The money I get covers two people. The average salary is between £15 & £20K my benefit is under £7K.
Brown and Purnell, the saying goes "charity begins at home", concentrate on the public that was born in this country first. Stop wasting money on the illegals that come from other areas. They see the UK as a soft touch.

Stephen Hoye, Enfield, UK / Middx

Perhaps if those who are unemployed by personal choice were made to work for there benefits instead of enjoying the life of rilley on dole then I might see a reduction in my hard earned taxes which pay for the spongers and dossiers who seem to refuse to get jobs living off of the rest of society, it is time the government introduce some form of work fair or scheme in which these people are made to earn there benefits.

EL Thompson, Wells, Somerset UK