Paul talks to Employment Minister Tony McNulty and head of the TUC Union Brendan Barber to discuss what can be done to help people whose jobs are under threat.

The Government minister said they were increasing the investment in Job Centre Plus – up to almost £2 billion, while also working with private sector to help increase the skill sets of real people, and make them increasingly valuable to their employers.

Listen to Paul Jacobs getting down to the core questions on the unemployment situation and benefits policy with Employment minister Tony McNulty and TUC head Brendan Barber here.

Additionally, Tony McNulty said that it was a chief concern for all of Government to get the markets working more liquidly, increasing the flow of money between businesses and banks in order to stimulate the economy faster.

The leader of the TUC thought however that the Government could still do more however.

Brendan Barber said that he would like to see the Government telling businesses to reduce working hours rather than making redundancies because it allows people to keep their skills in the market and keeps the dole queues down too.

Additionally Brendan added that the current level of benefits received in the UK simply isn’t enough. Standing at £60 a week, Tony McNulty had previously said the amount of benefits admittedly doesn’t make living easy.

Brendan added that he believed any increase in these payments can only be a good thing, not least because the very people who need the money are the same people who cannot afford to save the money, so any extra cash invested in the benefits system would undoubtedly help the economy as all that money quickly finds its way back into the small businesses and shops who need it.