News
Unemployment among the young on the rise – according to new figures
The worklessness rate within the entire UK, including all age groups, has a risen to 4.3%.
The highest increase within the population involved 16-24-year-olds, as the estimate for the number of young people not in employment, education or training, also known as NEETs, has risen to 872,000 from 798,000 in one year, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
Winchester resident Stephen Teagle is 20 years old and is currently out of work; since he dropped out of university last year, he is yet to start searching for a job.
“After dropping out of uni, I had planned to travel. And due to the restrictive nature of having a job and travelling, I decided not to get one; having a job currently would just negatively impact my plans,” he said.
Along with about 540,000 other young people in the UK, Stephen would be labelled as an economically inactive person, which is someone who is not actively looking for training or employment.
However, Stephen plans to change this in the near future: “After New Year’s, if I’m not going to go travelling again, then I’ll probably try looking for a job in a coffee shop or something.”
The government has labelled these high levels of youth worklessness as “unacceptable” and is planning to introduce a Youth Guarantee as part of their new welfare system to combat this issue.
This new scheme would offer young people aged 18-21 the opportunity to be trained in order to aid them into work.
Stephen believes that this guarantee could be good for the general majority, but worries some people may fall through the cracks of the system.
“I really like the encouragement to push people into work. For a lot of people, it’ll help financially and boost their self-esteem.
“However, I think the way that they’re doing it and with certain people’s circumstances, it will just potentially cause more issue.
“If you try to force small groups, such as people with disabilities or mental health issues, into things that they can’t do or will negatively impact them, then that is purely the wrong way to do it.”
The scheme will be offered to those currently out of employment, but if they choose to reject the offer, then they could face having their benefits cut, according to work and pensions minister Liz Kendall.
Stepehen feels that this added pressure onto those struggling mentally will make their situation even harder.
“It’s gonna make it 100% worse… for a couple years I didn’t work because of my depression. If it were now, and I was on benefits, and the government was like ‘get a job or we’ll cut it’, that’s gonna make me spiral.”
Communities are encouraged to buy a poppy as this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal is launched in the lead-up to Remembrance Day.
The annual fundraising campaign supports members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, personnel and their families.
The Poppy Appeal remains the Legion’s biggest annual fundraiser.
Last year, more than 32 million poppies were distributed across the UK, and about £51.4 million was raised in donations.
Chris Hayward is managing the Poppy Appeal in North Hampshire & Winchester and said: “Wearing a poppy during Remembrance time shows that you care.”
“It’s a national symbol, and it shows the armed forces community that you appreciate everything that they do.”
She added: “For those who want to get involved, you can wear your poppy, donate to the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal, and also participate in the collections and volunteer as a collector.”
Winchester will be recognising remembrance itself, with a service at the Cathedral on Sunday, 9th November, in addition to a service at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on Armistice Day.
The service will begin at 9:20 am and will include a procession from The Broadway to Winchester Cathedral, as well as wreath laying too.
Donations from the campaign go towards services including mental health support, housing assistance and employment advice for veterans transitioning to civilian life.
For more information on how to donate, volunteer or order poppies online, visit: britishlegion.org.uk/poppyappeal.
Until 2093, asteroid 2025 PN7 will be sharing the Earth’s orbit.
You may have seen circuiting on social media a myth that the Earth has two moons from now until 2083 – sadly, that’s science fiction.
In August of this year astronomers discovered asteroid 2025 PN7.
It is considered a quasi-moon as it orbits the sun in a similar path to Earth.
According to Mike Shanahan, planetarium director at New Jersey’s Liberty Science Centre, the asteroid has been travelling “alongside Earth for 60 years”.
Due to the size of the asteroid, it wasn’t discovered until this summer.
Astronomy fans hoping to see a second moon in the sky are out of luck.
The asteroid is too small and far away to be seen by the naked eye or regular telescopes.
The number of asteroids in Earth-like orbit has been known to exceed 100.
Some orbit alongside the Earth for merely months, whereas others years or decades.
Currently, six other quasi-moons have been recorded near Earth.
Cardiff is the first UK city to introduce a “tax” for SUVs weighing over 2.4 tonnes.
The tax is to be enforced in residential permit areas, and also includes cars that are powered by diesel.
Cardiff Council is hoping that implementing this will improve congestion, the air quality, and create space on pavements.
The exact cost has yet to be announced, but the council has announced it will be releasing the tax in phases.
Winchester is a relatively small city with many residential permit areas – the question of a similar initiative being introduced locally has arisen.
Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council chose not to respond to Winchester News Online, with Winchester City Council stating that it is not a subject a councillor is likely to comment on, as it is an issue relevant to Cardiff and not yet an issue to Winchester.
Though the council does not yet deem this a possibility, it has gotten the public talking.
Jet Gates, a disability campaigner, said:
“It’s going to have a massive impact on disabled people across the UK
“We are a highly marginalized group in society – it’s just yet another nail in the coffin.”
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