Katherine Trebeck of our UK Poverty team with another post:
David Cameron has said that in its spending cuts the 'first thing' the government should do is cut fraud and waste in the benefit system.

The first thing? Really? Of course fraud anywhere should be stamped out - there is no question about that. But of all the evasion, waste, self-indulgence of MPs, is targeting some of the poorest people in our society really the first thing that needs to be done? I find it hard not to be astounded by the way that Cameron is picking on such an easy target.

Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. People on benefits have long been positioned as 'undeserving' and labelled as 'scroungers'.

Yet people on benefits are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities who need our support, not further stigmatisation. They need real opportunities - this should be the first priority of any government, not putting people on benefits in the front of the firing line as the state seeks to recoup money deployed saving the banks and our consumption-obsessed economy from deeper recession.

Prioritising young people in particular is an urgent task if we are to give them cause for optimism. I am not talking about simply 'hug a hoodie' rhetoric, but proper, even brave, leadership that doesn't perpetuate the worst instincts of those who will hang onto scapegoats put before them.

What I mean is truly giving people on benefits a chance - a chance to shine if you'll excuse the pop-idol language.

And the need for this shift is underscored by recent evidence that suggests young people from workless families are more optimistic for themselves than we are: the Prince's Trust released research this week showing that nearly one in five (18%) young people from workless homes expect to end up on benefits because other people around them have done so. That means that four in five don't expect to end up on benefits!

To me, this is an incredible triumph of optimism in the face of all the evidence that there are few jobs out there for young people. The STUC has just warned of a 'bleak' outlook for young people in the labour market, and policy makers frequently refer to the risk of a 'lost generation'.

We know that young people make decisions and frame their expectations on the basis of information they have available to them. This includes the experiences they have had in school, training, the labour market and their views of the experiences of those around them. For those who did not excel in school or other education, there are few jobs left that offer cause for aspiration (at least aspiration as the policy makers see it).

If decent work is not realistically available, if their experiences of work have proved to be that it is low paid, short-lived and without prospects of progression, then can we blame young people from workless families for not dreaming of becoming chartered accountants, dentists, tax lawyers or even Members of Parliament?

As geographers at the University of Glasgow Cumbers, Helms and Straus warn:

"Existing training schemes do fall short of the provision of opportunities that might enhance individuals choice and life chances...this clearly implies that it is not a 'lack of aspiration' at play here...[What is at play is that] expectations of a decent, quality apprenticeship and training are not being either met, or pursued, by policy... the real issue is the provision of diverse options for young people that might enable them to assess and make their own decisions..."

Anything less than provision of such diverse options in a tangible realistic way is simply selling our vulnerable young people short.