1
00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:05,400
100 years ago, this family
were desperately seeking work

2
00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:09,280
and, with no money,
were struggling simply to survive.

3
00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,280
"Up at five. Walked
round and round the town until 12.

4
00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,760
"Nothing doing anywhere, so I was
fairly sick of walking about."

5
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:23,040
Last time, we tracked down
the family, to find out
what had happened to them.

6
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:24,600
That's the Eureka moment.

7
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:31,880
And we followed their journey,
one that started in desperation
and ended in undreamt of success.

8
00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:34,800
What are the chances of that?

9
00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:39,380
But that's the nature of things.
You never know where the path
is going to lead you to.

10
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,800
But, exactly 100 years on,
unemployment is still with us.

11
00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:51,680
In York,
jobless men are on the march.

12
00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,800
And there are still people
living on the margins.

13
00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,600
So this time, we ask what
difference has a century made?

14
00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,240
And have benefits brought with them
new problems?

15
00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:10,160
Life is easy on benefits. You get
used to going to the bank every two
weeks and pulling out your money.

16
00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:18,000
As the new government embarks on
a massive shake-up of the welfare
state, we compare then with now,

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00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,200
to see what history can tell us
about a life without work.

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00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:46,960
It's one of England's great cities.

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A place of history and grandeur.

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00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,520
But York has always been
a place of work, as well.

21
00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:05,320
And, for the last century, two
great industries have dominated -

22
00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,000
the railways
and the chocolate factories.

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00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,200
TOUR GUIDE: This pub is said
to be haunted by three ghosts.

24
00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,160
One appears
as a disembodied pair of legs.

25
00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,360
We think it's somebody
who drank too much

26
00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,120
and died legless.

27
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:33,560
Ive known York all of my life and,
maybe just 20 years ago, this place

28
00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,480
was still earning its living through
chocolate and through trains.

29
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,080
But not really any more.

30
00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,520
It's now much more about
tourism and heritage.

31
00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:53,200
But look beyond the picture-postcard
image, scratch below the surface,
and there is another side to York.

32
00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:01,360
You'll find single mothers and young
men living entirely on benefits.

33
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,440
And others who only survive on
charity handouts, just to get by.

34
00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,000
Anyone for baked beans? Please.

35
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:18,520
How can this be
in a relatively wealthy city in one
of the richest countries on earth?

36
00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:32,120
Exactly 100 years ago, here in York,
there was a man saying
the same things.

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00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,160
Why are people being lost,
being trapped on the margins?

38
00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:41,720
Why are they not ever getting back
into normal, working life?

39
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And the thing is, the man
who was asking those questions

40
00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:49,200
was one of the richest, most
influential people here in the city.

41
00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,800
Seaborn Rowntree
was a wealthy man.

42
00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:05,600
The family business was chocolate,
but his passion was social reform.

43
00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:12,480
He wanted to improve people's lives,
campaigning for decent housing
and better working conditions.

44
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,720
His ideas were radical.

45
00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:19,480
His work exposed poverty
and influenced the creation
of the welfare state.

46
00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:28,360
In 1910, he began an
extraordinary project, something
that had never been done before.

47
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,080
He sent researchers into
the slums of Edwardian York.

48
00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,200
He asked the poor
to describe their lives.

49
00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,040
The scale was hugely ambitious.

50
00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,720
He surveyed every
working-class house in the city...

51
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,480
..and asked some
families to keep a diary.

52
00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:03,760
In a time before benefits, he wanted
to know how the jobless survived.

53
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,720
"Purchases - Wednesday.

54
00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,400
"Scrag end of mutton, eight pence.

55
00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,000
"Potatoes, tuppence ha'penny.

56
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,080
"Two ounces of yeast, a penny.

57
00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,560
Gas, tuppence.

58
00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:27,000
"I became more anxious to get work,
being out from early morning until

59
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,480
"late at night, with a stomach
as empty as a soap bubble.

60
00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:35,760
"But I struggled bravely on,
knowing too well those
dependent on me at home.

61
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,280
"At last, the crisis came,
when I became penniless."

62
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,880
You have a kind of generic
understanding of poverty,

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00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,320
in that you see photographs
from that period.

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00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,600
You see photographs taken
in the slums, and you are
looking at the ragged children,

65
00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,480
the barefoot children in the street.

66
00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,920
But the sheer visceral nature
of the level of poverty these people

67
00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,560
were experiencing,
you only get from the diaries,

68
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and the accounts that
are captured in Rowntree's book.

69
00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,280
And it is an absolute eye-opener,
as, of course, it was at the time.

70
00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,320
"Meals during the week.

71
00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:24,840
"Breakfast - tea with condensed
milk and sugar, bread and butter.

72
00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,280
"Dinner - tea, fish and potatoes.

73
00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:30,680
"Supper - bread and dripping."

74
00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,760
So how does that city compare
to the York of today?

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00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:54,280
What does a life without work
feel like exactly a century since
Rowntree came to these streets?

76
00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:58,480
Well, we're going to look for modern
examples of the people he found -

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00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,080
the young, the old
and the vulnerable.

78
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,920
Where has a century's
progression left them,
and how much has really changed?

79
00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,480
100 years on, what emerges from
Rowntree's detailed research

80
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,480
is the most difficult cases
were those people who hadn't
worked for a long time.

81
00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,920
It's painful, but it's worth it.

82
00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:25,880
It's worth it, yeah?

83
00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:29,440
This is JJ McBride.

84
00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,240
He's been out of work
for more than a year.

85
00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:37,440
His has been a complicated life,
and his tattoos tell his story.

86
00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:42,120
I don't just go into a tattoo
parlour and find tattoos
that I think look nice.

87
00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,440
They have to actually mean something,
or you can find meaning in them.

88
00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,720
The first one I got was my son's
name, which is this one here.

89
00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,280
It says 'Ian'.
He passed away 10 years ago.

90
00:07:55,280 --> 00:08:00,360
And I felt it was only right
I had his name on this arm,
as he's always on my mind.

91
00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:07,280
Ian was two years old when he died
in an accident and JJ has been
struggling with it ever since.

92
00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:13,640
I got the eagle when I stopped using
drugs and stopped drinking heavily.

93
00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:15,560
This one here,

94
00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,920
it represents the fact that I've been
rushed into hospital that many times,

95
00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:25,680
because of drink, because of drug
usage, that I feel like I've
beaten death, if you will.

96
00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,120
The skull represents death
and the panthers represent me.

97
00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,160
He's drifted from town
to town and job to job.

98
00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:39,480
He's educated, and he's fit and
able, but he lives in a hostel
and exists on handouts.

99
00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,720
Why is JJ in a life
completely without work?

100
00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:49,240
To many,
JJ's story epitomises what's wrong
with our system of benefits -

101
00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:55,320
a financial safety net unknown
to Rowntree when he wrote
his report 100 years ago.

102
00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:05,160
JJ says he's determined to find
work, and like Rowntree's
researchers, we'll watch him try.

103
00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,120
Hello, mate. I've got
an appointment at 20 past one.

104
00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:15,720
It's Jonathan McBride.

105
00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:25,000
Once a fortnight, he has to come
to the Job Centre, to explain what
he's doing to get off the dole.

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00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,200
Bar staff.

107
00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:32,680
Mr McBride, please. Hello.

108
00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:34,440
Hello, Jonathan. You alright?

109
00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,720
He receives
Jobseeker's Allowance, £65 a week.

110
00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,480
But he has to show he's serious
about looking for work.

111
00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,480
How's it been going, then,
over the last couple of weeks?

112
00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,040
Not bad. The jobs that you put us
for last week, I've applied for.

113
00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,400
I got knocked back from Yates's.

114
00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:54,160
Why, what did they say?
Just that I had been
out of work too long. Did they?

115
00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:58,840
I needed to be going through training
and get more experience.
Is that what they said?

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00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,360
Yeah. Dear me.

117
00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,320
'I think the key challenges
we've got is'

118
00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:04,640
the 18 to 24-year-olds.

119
00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:10,040
We have about 1,200 of those
claiming Jobseeker's allowance.

120
00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,080
And lone parents
are an issue for us, as well.

121
00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:19,080
We've had some success there,
though, but there's about
1,400 lone parents in York.

122
00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:23,840
The longer-term unemployed people,
people who have been unemployed
for six months or more,

123
00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:28,640
we have about 1,300 of those
currently claiming and these tend
to be a more challenging group.

124
00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:33,320
That's very interesting, that you
should say young people and the
long-term unemployed,

125
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because that's exactly what Seaborn
Rowntree found 100 years ago.
I guess things don't change,

126
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especially when
we're in a recession,
you will find that people,

127
00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,240
maybe the long-term unemployed
and young people, of course,

128
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:50,280
find it difficult to demonstrate
they do have suitable work skills.

129
00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,800
Right, well, I've got
just the ticket for you.

130
00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,800
It's a position
as a kitchen assistant.

131
00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,800
Working between 12 and 39 hours
a week, five days out of seven.

132
00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:06,120
Lorraine has a job in mind,
but JJ doesn't look bowled over.
Is it something that...?

133
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:10,320
I'll have a look at it. I'm not
really that good on food preparation.

134
00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,440
No, but they're willing to train.

135
00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,840
Right. It's more about reliability.

136
00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,880
You don't have any problems
with reliability, do you? No.

137
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:23,640
So, would you be prepared to go
for a works trial with them?
Yeah. Would you? Right.

138
00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,400
With government spending
being cut back,

139
00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,000
people on Jobseeker's Allowance
are coming under closer scrutiny.

140
00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:36,480
It's about getting from CV
in the bin, to getting to sitting

141
00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:39,280
down there and having
that actual interview itself.

142
00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,120
There seemed to be
the chance of a job?

143
00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,560
Yeah, I mean, there are a few
opportunities with the work trials,

144
00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:54,560
which I'm going to crack on with
today, when I get back home.

145
00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:57,000
And then
just go from there, see what happens.

146
00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:08,600
JJ has been going through this
process for more than a year,
but nothing has changed.

147
00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,560
100 years ago, Rowntree observed
some people who'd been

148
00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:16,440
out of work for a long time
could lose the will to find a job.

149
00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:25,080
"Many of them began as regular
workers, and for a time, they
continued to look for regular work

150
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,640
"till, very gradually,
the search for it ceased.

151
00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:38,880
"All employment requiring a serious
effort of any kind grew distasteful,
and if any other possible mode

152
00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:44,480
"of existence presented itself,
the systematic search for work
ceased entirely."

153
00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:54,560
In other words, if the unemployed
got too many handouts, they could
lose their motivation to find a job.

154
00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:56,280
Here's me.

155
00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:59,240
'JJ took me to the hostel
where he's living.'

156
00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,840
It's all right, isn't it?
Yeah, it's quite spacious.

157
00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,240
JJ has about £9 a day to live on.

158
00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:17,800
His room is only temporary,
but it is subsidised, so it
costs him just under £1 a day.

159
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,880
That leaves around £8 for food,
clothes and everything else.

160
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,280
JJ has lived on benefits
most of his adult life.

161
00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,360
How does it feel when
somebody like me says,

162
00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:38,240
"The benefits are making your life
easier." How does that feel when
that suggestion is put to you?

163
00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,200
It hurts,
but then again, it's the truth.

164
00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,560
Life is easy on benefits.

165
00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:53,680
You do get accustomed to it, you get
used to going to the bank every two
weeks and pulling out your money.

166
00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,160
You do get used to just surviving.

167
00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,920
So you're kind of institutionalised
by lack of work?

168
00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:00,880
In a way, yeah.

169
00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,640
Because I've been I'm employed
for so long,

170
00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,080
you know, and because of the fact
that all of the jobs I have gone for,

171
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,640
I've either not heard anything
or just been straight rejected.

172
00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,280
It's getting harder.
I know it's possible,

173
00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,640
because I've been
in this situation before.

174
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:21,200
But it's just getting harder
and harder to motivate myself.

175
00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:31,760
It seems to me that JJ does
want to turn his life around.

176
00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:33,640
The willingness is there.

177
00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,760
But the challenge, after so
long without work, is enormous.

178
00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,360
We'll see what happens to him
over the coming weeks.

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00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,200
But what of the other groups
living without work a century ago?

180
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:05,880
Rowntree told a story of Mrs Taylor,
a woman raising her family on her
own and without regular income.

181
00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:20,360
"Dinner is just over when we enter
and the members of the family
are all in the living room.

182
00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:26,760
"Mrs Taylor's husband drank
and gambled and finally went

183
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:31,040
"to America without her,
when the children were four and two.

184
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,440
"She has heard nothing of him since.

185
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:44,400
"But he ill-treated and half-starved
her and she is better off without him
than with him."

186
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,640
These people have no safety net.
They are very conscious that if

187
00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,200
they don't make the rent, then
the abyss opens up underneath them.

188
00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,800
Of course, there is technically a
safety net. There is the workhouse.

189
00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:05,800
But the terror the workhouse
held for ordinary working people
means that they would literally

190
00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:10,920
face the prospect of starvation,
in order to keep a roof over their
heads, so they're not going to go

191
00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,960
into the workhouse. And that
is quite an astonishingly...

192
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:15,320
That was life in the raw.

193
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:26,440
"They have to pay the rent. And even
if they are positively starving,
the money for this is put aside.

194
00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,520
"Purchases during the week.
Monday - soap, threepence.

195
00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,120
"For laundry, ha'penny.
A pint of milk, penny ha'penny.

196
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,720
"Rent, four shillings.

197
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:42,520
"Tuesday - gas, tuppence.

198
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,200
"Thursday -
sewing cotton, fourpence.

199
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,560
"Matches, ha'penny.
Sticks for fuel, a penny.

200
00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:50,040
"Gas, a penny."

201
00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,360
Life for Mrs Taylor
was hand to mouth.

202
00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,640
She would make leftovers
last for days.

203
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,080
Are there any Mrs Taylors today?

204
00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:11,720
What would Rowntree make of a
single mother in York in 2010?

205
00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,440
Are you going to
roll your sleeves up?

206
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,560
What are you going to have
then, Riley? Pizza. Pizza?

207
00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:27,560
What's your favourite
stuff on there?

208
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,920
Ham and cheese.

209
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,600
Hayley Watson, like Mrs Taylor,
doesn't have a partner.

210
00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:37,680
How many do you want
it cutting into?

211
00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:43,160
He left before Riley was born
and she hasn't worked for 18 months.

212
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:47,240
If you read this diary, I
don't know if you read it,
this one, this is Mrs Taylor.

213
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:55,240
The idea of living back then without
work on your own with children,
it was a grim existence.

214
00:17:55,240 --> 00:18:01,720
You'd be pretty desperate at times.
How would you characterise being in
a similar situation a century later?

215
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,200
I wouldn't say I would use
any of those words, really.

216
00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,280
It's not great, but...

217
00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,880
It's OK, you manage.

218
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:16,200
How do you manage, then, do
you think about where you shop,
how you shop, what you buy?

219
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,360
I just sort of make sure that...

220
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:21,800
I sort of think about what
we're going to have that week.

221
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:25,360
And then, sort of,
get the things I need.

222
00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:30,480
I kind of try and make sure that
Riley gets a treat maybe once a
week or once every other week.

223
00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,120
There's my magazine. Yes, you've
got a magazine, haven't you, now?

224
00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:40,760
And I suppose the other side
would be some people would say...

225
00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,000
You know, what we had 100 years ago
was unacceptably difficult.

226
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,960
But what we've got now
is something that's the other way,

227
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,720
that makes it easier
for people to live without work.

228
00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,560
That somehow there is this
easy life there on benefits.

229
00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:56,720
Yes. But...it's a choice, really.

230
00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,920
Do you want to have
to really save,

231
00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:05,720
you know, and get by,
to have the things that you want.

232
00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:09,640
Or do you go to work and it
be that little bit easier.

233
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,440
And I want to do that,
because I want him to not have
to get by on things.

234
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,400
I want him to enjoy...

235
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,600
being little.

236
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:20,800
And not have to worry about things.

237
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,240
Can I've my pudding?
You want your pudding right now?

238
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:34,480
While Mrs Taylor received nothing,
Hayley is supported by the state.

239
00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,360
Her rent and council tax
are paid for.

240
00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:43,600
And, for everything else,
she receives a total of £128
a week, for her and Riley.

241
00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,200
So, as you'd imagine, when it
comes to the basics, life for

242
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:55,280
single parents
has improved enormously,
compared to a century ago.

243
00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,360
But the story is more complicated.

244
00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:04,080
In Britain today,
half of all single-parent families
live on the lowest income levels.

245
00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,200
Their children
are more likely to be disadvantaged.

246
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,080
Single parents were strugglin
a century ago

247
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,440
and many of them are, relatively
speaking, struggling today.

248
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,160
It is harder as a single parent,

249
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,520
because you've got to think about
one income.

250
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:27,960
Is one income enough to pay your
bills, your rent or your mortgage,

251
00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,360
pay your child care, if you've
got additional things to do.

252
00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:34,600
You know, you're looking after
a dependent and that means that

253
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,800
the responsibility falls on to you.

254
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,680
So life is more difficult
than if you were in
a two-income household.

255
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,200
What about life on benefits,
if you're a single mum?

256
00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,640
Can you not only be caught by
the safety net, but effectively
stay on the safety net?

257
00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,600
Can you rest on it? Can you
have a decent life on benefits?

258
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,640
No, you can't have a
decent life on benefits.
It is hand-to-mouth existence.

259
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,280
It does require a lot
of creativity to do it well.

260
00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:04,120
In the long term, most people
don't stay on benefits, because
obviously, it is too difficult.

261
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,080
And it's supposed to be difficult.

262
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,920
It's not supposed to be a life
where you're living comfortably.

263
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,320
It isn't a comfortable existence
as a single parent on benefits,
most definitely.

264
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,960
"A very heavy burden
falls on Mrs Taylor.

265
00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,320
"She's clever, careful,
and conscientious.

266
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:32,120
"Though she has no training,
she does some dressmaking

267
00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:36,760
"and her customers are among the
poor people of the neighbourhood.

268
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,600
"A day's charring is accepted
when dressmaking is slack."

269
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:53,640
The Taylor story, possibly
of all the accounts, has the
most immediate modern resonance.

270
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:55,880
It just comes across
time and time again,

271
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,440
when you read the account
of what she's doing,

272
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:03,080
that within the limitations
of her economic situation,

273
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:09,480
she's independently minded,
strong, determined to do the best
she can for her children.

274
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:22,600
The way the story is told is that
this is not an unusual situation
for a woman to find herself in,

275
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,440
which is a very useful eye-opener,
in a corrective to our perception
of that period of history.

276
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,760
No-one could accuse Mrs Taylor
of sponging off the state.

277
00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:49,120
But that's the sort of criticism
many single parents face today -

278
00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,520
that young women get pregnant
to get a house and benefits.

279
00:22:55,480 --> 00:23:00,720
From the young people you meet, do
you sense that that stigma attached
to single parents is still there?

280
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,280
Definitely, particularly
for young parents.

281
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,640
I've worked with over 100 over the
years and every one had a story

282
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:11,400
to tell me about a stranger
coming up to them in the street
or people giving them funny looks.

283
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,640
So, they really do feel really
keenly that public disdain for,

284
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,400
particularly young single parents,
is alive and well.

285
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:25,320
I don't like the stereotype
of being a stay-at-home mum.

286
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,480
And the young mums and...

287
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:34,680
..you know, just having babies
so they can stay at home
and they don't have to work.

288
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:36,840
I don't like that stereotype.

289
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,440
Are you going to have
just a little bit? No.

290
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,240
Go on.
Does it really annoy you, then?

291
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,240
It does, a lot, yeah.

292
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,760
It does annoy me quite a lot. Why?

293
00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:55,720
Because you can't judge everybody
the same. Because not everybody...

294
00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:03,120
feels like that and wants
to do that. It's just sometimes
the circumstances that you're in

295
00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:07,680
mean that's the way it has to be,
as opposed to...

296
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,680
Are there
single mums like that, do you think?
That just want to stay at home?

297
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:17,360
Yeah, there are mums that just
want to stay at home and that,
I suppose, that's their choice.

298
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:20,200
But it's not something I...

299
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:22,320
I feel like I want to do.

300
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,880
What have you done today, then?
What's in your hair?

301
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,200
Have you done painting?

302
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,760
Glueing? Sand?

303
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,640
Hayley, like JJ,
says she wants to work.

304
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,320
It's even harder for her, because
she's got Riley to look after.

305
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:51,800
But if she gets a job, the benefit
system will continue to help by
paying for some of her child care.

306
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,600
The system is there to help
people like Hayley back to work.

307
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:04,600
Over the next few weeks,
we'll find out whether it works
and Haley finds the job she wants.

308
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:10,800
This system of financial support
has grown from nothing since
Rowntree's work a century ago.

309
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:20,880
Now, the benefit system he helped
to create accounts for more than a
quarter of all government spending.

310
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,800
That cost could never have
been imagined by Rowntree.

311
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:30,240
He simply believed those
without work needed support.

312
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,800
His work reminds you that it's about
human beings and human stories.

313
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,160
It's not about impersonal forces
and laws of nature.

314
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,360
This is about real people
and the effects of the economy
on real people.

315
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:50,160
And that how real people survive in
the economy is down to human action.

316
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,120
Rowntree believed in practical help
to get people back to work.

317
00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:03,800
In 1910, Labour Exchanges,
an idea he supported,
were just being introduced.

318
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:12,600
The concept was straightforward.
You registered your name and hoped
it would be matched with a vacancy.

319
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:17,080
100 years on, searching for work
has become an industry.

320
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,680
Now there are
more than 1,000 Job Centres,

321
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:27,840
more than 10,000
recruitment companies and nearly
2,500 careers advice centres.

322
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:31,440
You don't get two chances to make
a first impression.

323
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:36,440
The CV or the application form
that you present will be the only
chance to impress that employer.

324
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:41,200
JJ's been sent to this training
centre to get some practical advice.

325
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:46,240
CV, then. Full title, curriculum
vitae, Latin for 'course of life'...

326
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,200
JJ says he constantly
applies for jobs

327
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,880
and is constantly rejected.

328
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,440
Of course, if he doesn't look
for work, he'll lose his benefits.

329
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:59,040
You'll apply for jobs.
Your expectations are raised.

330
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,920
You're anticipating
getting an interview
and you don't even hear back.

331
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,880
And that's becoming par
for the course. You know,
you have to brush yourself down...

332
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,800
It is not just about
teaching practical skills.

333
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,040
Eamonn says, in 2010,
some young people need

334
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,840
to be convinced they should
give up their life without work.

335
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,760
We potentially have a culture
where young people

336
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:29,480
think that maybe they don't
have to do a great deal,

337
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,640
they can make a lot of money
without doing a lot of training

338
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:33,920
or a lot of studying.

339
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:38,720
And they don't see
the rewards of going out
and working and contributing.

340
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,760
You're having to make this case,
you're having to make the case
for work?

341
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:44,960
Making a case for work. Absolutely.

342
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:50,360
People will be surprised
that young people need to be
talked into having to go into work.

343
00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,520
I think they do.
There need to be lessons
in the benefits of going to work.

344
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,440
But, sometimes, a bit of inspiration
is all they need.

345
00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:11,240
Today, JJ is hitting the streets
with his freshly printed CVs.

346
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,240
Hiya. Can I drop my CV at all?
Of course you can.

347
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:36,440
We watched JJ and saw echoes of
the unemployment diaries written
for Rowntree a century ago.

348
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:42,680
"Monday, July 18th.

349
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:44,840
"Got up at 5am.

350
00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,960
"Went round to several places
to see if I could find any work,

351
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,760
"but did not get any."

352
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,720
'All I'm really looking for
is this one opportunity.

353
00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:58,960
'All I really need is one chance.

354
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,120
'One person to say,
"We'll give him a go".'

355
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:12,240
"Back at noon,
no breakfast, dry bread for dinner.

356
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:17,040
"Went out again at two,
walked about until seven. Nothing."

357
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:25,240
Not surprisingly JJ's quest for work
seems less desperate
than a century ago.

358
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:31,520
The benefits he gets mean that there
isn't the urgency that the threat
of destitution used to bring.

359
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:47,000
For decades,
we've debated the balance
between a need for a safety net

360
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:51,600
and the incentive to work,
and once again it is on the agenda.

361
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:53,280
MOBILE PHONE RINGS

362
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:54,760
Oh, hang on.

363
00:29:58,520 --> 00:29:59,520
Hello.

364
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:02,960
Hiya, Lorraine, how are you doing?

365
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:07,000
Back at the hostel he gets some news
and it's looking promising.

366
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,880
What's your number? Dawn.

367
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,720
Yeah, will do, thanks a lot. Bye.

368
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:18,400
What was that, what did she say?

369
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:23,760
Lorraine from the Job Centre.
She just rung to tell me that
she's rung up this company

370
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:28,200
that we couldn't get in
touch with earlier about a work
trial for a kitchen assistant.

371
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,600
I've just got to go up and pick
up an application form tomorrow.

372
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:36,520
'After 18 months on the dole, could
this be the chance of the job?'

373
00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:46,480
Now 100 years ago, Rowntree
highlighted another group
whose problems resonate today -

374
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,240
those who lose work
when they are older.

375
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:57,040
He came across Mr Campbell,
a man in his forties who'd just
lost a job he'd had for 17 years.

376
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:02,560
What Seaborn Rowntree
wanted Mr Campbell to do,
along with everybody else

377
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:07,320
keeping a diary, was to write down
what it was to be unemployed.

378
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,880
But he didn't just want a list
of facts, he wanted to know

379
00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:17,000
what it felt like to be without work
in this city 100 years ago.

380
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:35,360
He'd spent his working life
as a fitter, he supported
a wife and three children,

381
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:39,720
but overnight he went from
full-time employment to nothing.

382
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:44,440
Now from the moment Mr Campbell
lost his job, he was desperate

383
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,840
to try and find new work,
we can see that from his diary.

384
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:54,960
He came to the library
every day to look in the newspapers
to see if there were jobs around.

385
00:31:54,960 --> 00:32:00,440
He says here he was
hoping against hope
that there was something for him.

386
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:04,520
It goes on to say,
"I was answering advertisements
in the York Press and Herald,

387
00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,320
"all of which came
to absolutely nothing in the end."

388
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:20,520
"It is unfortunately indisputable
that when an unskilled worker gets
past 40 he finds it very difficult

389
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:25,280
"to meet with an employer who is
willing to give him regular work.

390
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:30,320
"He may be able to work quite
as well as a younger man,
but in a labour market

391
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:35,960
"where the supply of unskilled labour
almost invariably exceeds the demand,

392
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,680
"an employer,
having to choose between
a younger man and an older man,

393
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,080
"not unaturally,
chooses the younger."

394
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,400
This is where lads
used to start work on a morning.

395
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,920
Looks as if they
could still be turning up today.

396
00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:01,520
It's like the Mary Celeste almost,
you know if the bodies were here you
wouldn't think anything had changed.

397
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:16,440
In some ways Bill Rawcliffe
is a modern-day Mr Campbell,
although he's a skilled worker.

398
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:23,880
He certainly shares the sense of
shock. He's just lost his job, after
almost 40 years on the railways.

399
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:28,480
This is the first time that
Bill has been back to the depot
since he was made redundant.

400
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:35,440
'All I've ever wanted to do
when I was at school
was work on the railway.

401
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:40,080
'Didn't mind what I did on
the railway, it's just
what I'd always wanted to do.'

402
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:44,960
Bill's story says a lot about the
city and the industry he grew up in.

403
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,880
Me old rule book.

404
00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:58,880
He joined British Rail in 1973
as a 15-year-old messenger.

405
00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,920
'I can't describe it, its just
like, it is the end of the road.'

406
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,600
I'm not ready for retirement,
I've got a lot of work in me.

407
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:19,480
There's just nothing there for us,
nobody seems to care.

408
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,880
Me, personally, I feel betrayed.

409
00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,200
Nobody to blame.

410
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:26,640
It's just gone.

411
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,280
There you go.

412
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,080
That's it, innit?

413
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:38,800
Thrown on the scrapheap at 53.

414
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,080
York was a rail town.

415
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:06,800
Bill worked his way up to become
a foreman and a union shop steward.

416
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:19,000
That's the group of guys
that I worked with,
That's me there, in my younger days.

417
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,240
It was a bit like a family,
you know, we all worked together,

418
00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:25,640
we went out together,
we played football.

419
00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,880
This is jobs a bit later on,
in the mid-to late '80s.

420
00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:33,880
That's my backside pushing that,
probably the best view we've got.

421
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:40,840
He watched an industry change.

422
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:44,480
The rail works cut
2,000 jobs in the '90s.

423
00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:52,120
It wasn't just
a working relationship,
it was actually our way of life.

424
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:56,000
That's how I've learnt
my job, I've learnt it,
we learned from each other,

425
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,600
hundreds of years' worth
of experience in there.

426
00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:02,480
And here we've got
to the situation now where
it's all been disintegrated.

427
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:10,960
After privatisation
in the early '90s, Bill's job
was passed to Railtrack.

428
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,200
Though his work never really
changed, his employers did.

429
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:20,000
In 1996, he was transferred
to another maintenance company

430
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:25,240
and then, two years later,
his final move, to a company
called Jarvis.

431
00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:28,880
Bill had no choice in these moves,
but when Jarvis

432
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:32,520
went into administration
earlier this year, he was out.

433
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,240
Bill is fighting
to get his job back.

434
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,040
Tell him to ring back.

435
00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:02,200
When he was made redundant, the
maintenance contracts were passed
from Jarvis on to other companies.

436
00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:06,440
Tell him he has to ring back,
he has to ring back, because
you can't ring home after.

437
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:12,800
For Bill, the idea that other firms
and other workers are now doing his
job is the hardest thing to take.

438
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:16,920
So he's trying to mobilise support
for a protest.

439
00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:22,440
Sean, how are you doing, mate?

440
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,720
Listen, I don't really
ask people for much, Sean,
but we stood 100% behind you guys

441
00:37:26,720 --> 00:37:29,640
when you had your trouble.
I would not expect you to go

442
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,320
and do that job,
when it's our work and we've been
thrown out of the door.

443
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:37,680
I'll be disappointed, to say
the least. You know I only ask
when it's deadly serious.

444
00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:39,240
This can't get more serious.

445
00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:45,040
Tonight we're here for one
thing and one thing only,

446
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:49,040
to let them know that we aren't
happy that they've taken our jobs.

447
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:52,040
CHEERING

448
00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:55,200
The demo's at a site
in West Yorkshire,

449
00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,880
where he and some of the others who
lost their jobs were due to work.

450
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:06,720
Most here haven't
received any compensation -
no money for eight weeks.

451
00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:09,000
Can I ask you who you are?

452
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,640
You wouldn't have normally
worked here, would you? No.

453
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:16,600
Right, there's 1,200 of us
been sacked and I'm asking,

454
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:21,600
as a trade union member,
in all consciousness, would you
be prepared to go home tonight? No.

455
00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,760
Lads, I've asked the guy,
let him get in.

456
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:28,240
Just let him go in, let him go in.
Thank you very much.

457
00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:31,440
No, I'm not shaking your BEEP hand,
you're doing my job, mate.

458
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:35,520
Boo! Boo!
Shame on you! Shame on you!

459
00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,120
Bill's union, the RMT,
supports the workers

460
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:44,360
trying to get their jobs back,
but doesn't officially back
this demo.

461
00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,440
Bill puts his case
to every car that arrives.

462
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:51,240
It's our job, you know it's our job.

463
00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:56,600
But the thing is
I'm sub-contract, this is my job,
I've got bills and I've got kids.

464
00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,760
Look, how long
have you been doing this?

465
00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:03,040
I don't want to have an argument
with you, I just want to go
to work, that's all I want.

466
00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:08,960
OK, we'll remember you. Right.
All right. Scab. Move.

467
00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:10,640
Move out, let him go.

468
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,200
Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab!

469
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:22,560
Bill treats this like a strike
and thinks those arriving should
show support and refuse to work.

470
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:26,440
Can I ask you to go home tonight?
We won't do this again.

471
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:28,560
Yeah, but if I go home,
I lose my job.

472
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,240
None of the drivers accept
Bill's case. Listen. Listen.

473
00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:34,320
We have gone on strike before.

474
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:39,080
The exchange has become
increasingly angry and police
step in to keep the cars moving.

475
00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:40,280
Can you just step back.

476
00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:50,000
Scab! Scab!

477
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:54,120
The protesters are
calling the workers scabs,

478
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:58,640
because they think they are
behaving like strike-breakers,
but there is no strike.

479
00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:00,520
Scab! Scab! Scab!

480
00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,240
Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab!

481
00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:05,360
Scab! Scab!

482
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:09,480
Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab!

483
00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:15,000
The workers are simply doing
their jobs for companies
with legitimate contracts.

484
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:21,160
I don't know a better word than scab
for them, to be honest with you.

485
00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:23,840
We're not allowed to say it,
because it's hurtful.

486
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:29,080
Well it should be bloody hurtful,
they should go home after the shift
and find it difficult to sleep.

487
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:43,360
We work on rails all over the area,
all over the country.

488
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:46,560
We just go where the work is,
contracting.

489
00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:49,080
They're calling you scabs,
is that what you are?

490
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:50,640
No. Why not?

491
00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:55,680
How can we be scabs when they haven't
got a company to picket against?

492
00:40:55,680 --> 00:41:00,520
Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab! Scab!

493
00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:02,480
What are you doing?

494
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:04,360
Come on, man, you know the craic.

495
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:07,800
The worst moment for the protesters
is when Bill and his mates spot

496
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,160
people they have worked with
in the past.

497
00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:11,640
John!

498
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:28,960
100 years ago there was no protest
when Mr Campbell lost his job.

499
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:34,360
Back in 1910, there was precious
little support for those tipped
into a life without work.

500
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:39,200
Mr Campbell actually wrote in his
diary how it felt to ask for help.

501
00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:46,280
So Mr Campbell came down
to the labour exchange,

502
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:49,360
which had actually just opened
up that year, 1910, in York.

503
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:51,800
And he got a card
and became a member

504
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,200
and did what he thought
he was expected to do,

505
00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:59,720
which was to come down to the
labour exchange every day and find
out what work was available.

506
00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:05,920
But to read from his diary,
"One morning, in handing in my card,
as usual, I was completely

507
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:10,720
"dumbfounded to hear him remark
that I was to call only
once a month.

508
00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:14,280
"Now at this point, I would like any
commonsense people to try and put

509
00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:20,360
"themselves in my position, when he
closed the small office window and
left me to my own keen reflection.

510
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:27,120
"I turned away and the only
remaining strength in my body
seemed to completely forsake me."

511
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:32,120
I think that's really powerful,
I think you can feel the emotion
he had that day, because this was

512
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:37,080
a man who had no money,
no food at home and now
no prospect of a job for a month.

513
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:45,680
In some ways, Bill Rawcliffe is in
a similar situation to Mr Campbell.

514
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:50,600
Until his benefit claim is processed
he, too, has no money coming in.

515
00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:57,000
He is determined to stay on the
railways, but the Job Centre have
sent him to seek a careers adviser.

516
00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,280
"CV", I can do a CV.

517
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,400
"Careers information" -
I had a career.

518
00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:02,920
Let's see how they can help me.

519
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:11,720
Bill thought he had a job for life.
He's not finding it easy
being back on the market.

520
00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:16,080
I'm 53 years old, I've worked
on the railway since I was 15.

521
00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:20,080
I know it inside out. So I've
no idea what else I could do.

522
00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:24,920
I mean I have no IT skills,
for example, with that,

523
00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:30,800
the truth is I've lived in York all
my life and I know there's no work.

524
00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:36,120
There is work, but it's not
necessarily work that you have

525
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,160
the right experience and skills for.
That's the problem.

526
00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:42,320
At end of day,
I'll do whatever it is I have to do.

527
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:44,520
I have to do something,
cos I've no money.

528
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,520
So I have to do something
and I'll do anything. OK.

529
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,000
But, that doesn't mean
to say you have to like it.

530
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:51,720
No, but obviously...

531
00:43:51,720 --> 00:43:54,560
I don't want to sound as
if I'm not bothered, I am.

532
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:58,640
But I actually really, really
want me old job back. Of course.

533
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:02,000
So, what do I do next?

534
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:08,280
Well, it would be a useful exercise
for you to actually start to put
together your career history,

535
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:11,360
look at your skills,
your aptitudes, your strengths.

536
00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:14,040
Can we agree on that?
We'll put that on the list.

537
00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:20,760
Well, I am already doing it.
It's there. You have one already?

538
00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:26,320
I've got all the details, it's just,
as I say, everything's handwritten,
so me wife will do it.

539
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,440
I have got all the details there,
that's not a problem.

540
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:33,320
It will take me ten or 15 minutes
to knock a CV up. OK.

541
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:37,880
Well, although you're saying
that the CV is in hand,

542
00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:40,840
you're in a very difficult position.
I appreciate that.

543
00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:45,880
I don't think you're really, really
looking at this as an option.

544
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:49,680
I think that you're caught up in
what's happening with the appeal.

545
00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:52,680
I'm still a bit bitter and angry,
I think, at the moment.

546
00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:56,080
Not directed at you. That's alright,
I'm not taking it personally.

547
00:44:56,080 --> 00:45:01,560
You have got a wealth of experience,
but you need to put yourself in
a strong position, potentially,

548
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:05,720
to have to vie with other people
for your own job.

549
00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:12,120
So having your CV,
in the first instance, I would say,
that's a given, it has to be done.

550
00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:23,040
With redundancies increasing
following the Spending Review, there
will be a lot more Bill Rawcliffes.

551
00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:29,360
Compared to someone in their late
20s, it's twice as difficult for
a man in his 50s to find a job.

552
00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:35,920
But Bill says he
won't stop fighting.

553
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:41,200
He's determined to get his old job
back and return to the railways.

554
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:01,600
It's dawn
in a field on the edge of York.

555
00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:07,640
In one of the country's
more prosperous cities,
a man's day is about to start.

556
00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:14,720
Of everything I saw in York,
this is a scene that could be
straight out of Rowntree's research.

557
00:46:14,720 --> 00:46:18,080
Richard
lives the most basic of lives.

558
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:21,240
This is home,
and it has been for six months,

559
00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:26,480
right through last winter,
when the overnight temperatures
in York fell to minus 10.

560
00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:39,800
Well, it's Friday morning.

561
00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:43,680
It's been raining for
the third night on the trot,

562
00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:47,560
so my tent is completely soaked

563
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:49,040
and damp.

564
00:46:52,280 --> 00:46:56,040
He ended up here
because he has enormous debts.

565
00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:00,800
He tried to get benefits, but found
the system unsupportive and hostile.

566
00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:03,520
So he came here
and he gets nothing.

567
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:05,600
What about trying
to get work out here?

568
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:10,880
You are trying to find work
and yet you're living in a tent,
you know, by a road.

569
00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:13,440
How is that combination working?

570
00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:17,000
For a start,
nobody knows I'm homeless.

571
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:21,080
If I go for interviews,
get in contact with people,
I just try to clean up.

572
00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:23,880
I try to go to the swimming baths,
get a shower there.

573
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:26,520
And food, I just eat as I need it.

574
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:28,920
Get food from the shops
on a daily basis.

575
00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:32,480
I try not to give the
impression that I'm homeless.

576
00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:43,040
Richard's work
is through temp agencies.

577
00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:46,720
It's low paid, manual work
and it's unpredictable

578
00:47:51,680 --> 00:47:53,280
'Nobody knows where I live.

579
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:57,760
'Work would be probably shocked
that I turn up for work and I've
been sleeping in a tent.

580
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:03,640
'I'm working for an agency right now,
so I wait on them to call me.

581
00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:07,840
'It's a bit hit and miss,
sometimes I work, sometimes I don't.'

582
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:15,320
But today there has been no call.

583
00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:19,440
Richard is walking into York
to get something to eat.

584
00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:25,400
Personal debt, casual work
and an invisible life.

585
00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:30,160
It is a tough existence,
but it is, in part, one he's chosen.

586
00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:43,200
He's heading to a charity that feeds
the vulnerable and the homeless.

587
00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:50,960
Every morning, right around the
corner from York's tourist streets,
they come for hot food and company.

588
00:48:50,960 --> 00:48:55,360
CONVIVIAL CHATTER

589
00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:05,480
It's easy for me to imagine 100
years ago people were not helped.

590
00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:09,840
I can imagine a scenario where
100 years ago, people were
desperate, on the streets.

591
00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:12,600
But most of us, I think,
like to think that's gone now

592
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,560
and that the system is such
that people are looked after.

593
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:18,280
That we let that go
and now things are fine.

594
00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:21,600
Yeah, we all like to have
a comfortable existence

595
00:49:21,600 --> 00:49:24,800
and forget about
the marginalised people.

596
00:49:24,800 --> 00:49:28,400
But they do exist. There's a number
of people around and about in York

597
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:35,840
that have very limited prospects,
very limited money coming in
and no roof over their head.

598
00:49:35,840 --> 00:49:40,080
But if we only looked for them,
we could find some of them.

599
00:49:40,080 --> 00:49:42,160
They are there? They are there.

600
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:44,600
This is the last stop.

601
00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:48,600
If this wasn't here, then it
would be nothing, no support at all?

602
00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:51,800
I think you could say
it's the first stop.

603
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:55,640
A number of people first come in
here when something has gone wrong.

604
00:49:55,640 --> 00:50:02,000
They need the social contact,
they need to be involved -
with other people.

605
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,560
Other people who, hopefully, can
give them a structure to their life.

606
00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:14,400
For Richard, this is one of the few
constants in his life, but he lives
for that call from the temp agency.

607
00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:21,480
It can be really frustrating,
just waiting for the phone call,
day-in, day-out.

608
00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:24,880
And really disappointing when
time goes by and you hear nothing.

609
00:50:24,880 --> 00:50:31,280
And all I want to do really is work.
That's all I want to do and get
myself straightened out.

610
00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:34,760
I think the only way I'm going to
get myself sorted out is by working.

611
00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:42,360
It's tough sometimes to stay
positive. I do have downers at times,

612
00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:49,280
but it passes. You just have to focus
on your goals, and just, you know,

613
00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:54,160
maintain your hope that things
are going to change and that
you're going to get through it

614
00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:55,840
and, you know, have a better life.

615
00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:06,480
Richard has plenty of time
to reflect, as he waits for
a phone call from the temp agency.

616
00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:15,560
He sees this work
as his only way out.

617
00:51:21,600 --> 00:51:28,760
But depending on unreliable work,
and refusing to ask for help, keeps
him locked into this lifestyle.

618
00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:34,840
Maybe he shows what a life
without benefits would look like.

619
00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:38,960
He's the only one of the people
I met who is working and yet,

620
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:44,920
he has the most desperate life,
an existence that seems to be
taking its toll on his health.

621
00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:50,720
How is it going on the food front?
You look very thin.
It's not going too bad.

622
00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:56,160
I normally eat plenty, though
sometimes I feel like I don't look
after myself as well as I should do.

623
00:51:56,160 --> 00:52:02,560
What have you eaten today? I had
some porridge at the Carecentre
and some biscuits and some toast.

624
00:52:02,560 --> 00:52:06,000
When will you eat again?
I'll eat tomorrow.

625
00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:07,560
Probably tomorrow morning.

626
00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:11,920
That doesn't seem a lot of
food for a big bloke who's working.

627
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:17,640
It's probably not enough,
but sometimes it's all I feel like.

628
00:52:17,640 --> 00:52:19,840
It's just something
you have to get used to.

629
00:52:27,680 --> 00:52:29,960
What does Richard's story tell us?

630
00:52:29,960 --> 00:52:33,400
Well, you can live without benefits.

631
00:52:33,400 --> 00:52:38,160
Casual work will provide an income,
for even those in the most
basic situations.

632
00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:42,760
There is a life
beyond the reach of the State.

633
00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:47,240
But Richard's life is, even at
this stage, one he has chosen.

634
00:52:47,240 --> 00:52:52,560
He could look for a place
in a hostel or a shelter,
but he chooses not to.

635
00:52:52,560 --> 00:52:57,160
He has not been failed by the
Rowntree model for a welfare state.

636
00:52:57,160 --> 00:53:03,040
No amount of government money
can reach all of those who live out
on the margins.

637
00:53:10,160 --> 00:53:12,760
Across town,
Hayley's situation has changed.

638
00:53:16,600 --> 00:53:18,120
Come on, now.

639
00:53:18,120 --> 00:53:20,120
We don't want to be late, do we?

640
00:53:20,120 --> 00:53:21,680
Where's Mummy going today?

641
00:53:21,680 --> 00:53:24,320
Can you remember? Sch...work!

642
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:27,040
To work today! I nearly said school.

643
00:53:27,040 --> 00:53:29,200
You nearly said school.

644
00:53:31,160 --> 00:53:34,920
Four months on, Hayley's life
is the one that's changed the most.

645
00:53:34,920 --> 00:53:38,640
She has just got a job
working part-time at a nursery.

646
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,200
She starts today.

647
00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:44,760
How's that going to work
with child care?

648
00:53:44,760 --> 00:53:50,400
Well, he's going to go
to Breakfast Club on a morning

649
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:56,000
and he's going to go to
a child minder on an afternoon.

650
00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:01,120
What do you think
about Mummy going to work?

651
00:54:01,120 --> 00:54:03,680
No!
You don't think I should go to work?

652
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:06,120
Why not? I don't want you to.

653
00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:07,960
Why? Because I don't.

654
00:54:07,960 --> 00:54:10,920
Why not?
Because I don't want you to.

655
00:54:10,920 --> 00:54:17,760
But then, if Mummy goes to work,
we'll have much more pennies. What?!

656
00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:20,360
Bye, bye!

657
00:54:20,360 --> 00:54:24,400
Hayley's is a story
firmly from 2010.

658
00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:28,720
Where it failed for Richard,
for her, the welfare system
has worked.

659
00:54:28,720 --> 00:54:33,800
The state provided
benefits when she was unemployed
and will now help with child care.

660
00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:40,480
What do we want?! Jobs back!
When do we want them?! Now!

661
00:54:40,480 --> 00:54:43,360
Bill's story has also moved on.

662
00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:46,720
# Justice for the Jarvis boys... #

663
00:54:46,720 --> 00:54:49,320
He fought so hard for his job,

664
00:54:49,320 --> 00:54:51,680
because he thought
he might get it back.

665
00:54:56,560 --> 00:54:59,480
He now knows
that's not going to happen.

666
00:55:00,640 --> 00:55:04,760
Some of the sacked workers
have been offered jobs
with the new contractor,

667
00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:06,680
but Bill is not one of them.

668
00:55:06,680 --> 00:55:12,360
He's applied for more than 60 other
vacancies, but without success.

669
00:55:12,360 --> 00:55:15,520
He's still looking for a job.

670
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:19,880
Rowntree's research into
unemployment and poverty

671
00:55:19,880 --> 00:55:22,800
helped shape the welfare state,
as we know it today.

672
00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:29,560
But, 100 years since he did that
work in this city, the entire
welfare system is under scrutiny.

673
00:55:29,560 --> 00:55:32,360
Because, as the government
looks to cut budgets,

674
00:55:32,360 --> 00:55:36,360
then just how you qualify
for benefits becomes a key question.

675
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:40,360
So single parents, the
young and long-term unemployed

676
00:55:40,360 --> 00:55:43,800
could see changes in what they
have to do to get benefits,

677
00:55:43,800 --> 00:55:46,640
even in how much money they get.

678
00:55:56,120 --> 00:55:59,800
Away from these city centre streets,
in the shadows,

679
00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:03,400
there is a twice-weekly ritual
that Rowntree would have recognised.

680
00:56:03,400 --> 00:56:06,280
Ham or cheese?
You like ham, don't you?

681
00:56:06,280 --> 00:56:11,320
'Down at Hungate, where the slums
were in the early 1900s,'

682
00:56:11,320 --> 00:56:13,720
food is still handed out
to the poor.

683
00:56:13,720 --> 00:56:16,800
Anyone for baked beans? Please.

684
00:56:16,800 --> 00:56:21,280
These people are not all homeless,
some are simply unemployed.

685
00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:24,120
I've got meatballs and hot dogs.

686
00:56:24,120 --> 00:56:28,360
And here tonight
is a familiar face - JJ.

687
00:56:31,520 --> 00:56:34,480
Why do you come down here?
It's just thinking, you know,

688
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:37,720
for weeks that I don't have any money
and I'm running low on food.

689
00:56:37,720 --> 00:56:43,480
I just come down here, have a brew,
get some food, that'll tide you over.
What difference does it make?

690
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:45,560
A big difference, really.

691
00:56:45,560 --> 00:56:50,400
Because, like I say, when you've
not got anything and you've
not got any money to get anything

692
00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:54,680
or anything like that,
it's a case of, it just gives you
a little bit to tide you over.

693
00:56:54,680 --> 00:56:56,000
It gets you through.

694
00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:02,440
Since we finished filming,
JJ seems to have started
turning his life around.

695
00:57:02,440 --> 00:57:09,000
He's moved out of the hostel
and into a flat and is now
holding down a job in a pub kitchen.

696
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:14,360
Julia has been coming here
for more than 20 years
to help people like JJ.

697
00:57:15,920 --> 00:57:19,960
People like you 100 years ago
were the, kind of, last rung.

698
00:57:19,960 --> 00:57:26,640
How do you feel about, that for some
people, you're still providing that
kind of safety net, 100 years later?

699
00:57:26,640 --> 00:57:28,760
Sad. I'm gobsmacked, but sad.

700
00:57:28,760 --> 00:57:35,000
I mean, it shouldn't be down to
somebody opening the back of their
boot and giving out food, should it?

701
00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:37,840
You've packed twice
what you packed last time, Julia.

702
00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:42,040
At least for another few years,
I shall be still down here,
until they stop coming.

703
00:57:47,280 --> 00:57:52,720
Despite the lifetime's work
of a man who used to this city
to show what needed to change,

704
00:57:52,720 --> 00:57:57,280
for some, the solutions
to ending a life without work

705
00:57:57,280 --> 00:58:02,280
remain as out of reach now
as they were a century ago.

706
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:36,040
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

707
00:58:36,040 --> 00:58:39,040
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk