Inside Britain's 'worklessness capital'

Grimsby is Britain's "worklessness capital", figures suggest. With the government setting out plans to "Get Britain Working", BBC News visited the town to find out what locals think.

Father-of-one John Burns tells me he spent last night sleeping under a bridge near the Grimsby Dock Tower – and he has a stark message for Sir Keir Starmer "in the other tower".

"It's all right for you, in your ivory tower. Come and live with us in an alley or under a bridge for a week. See what we have to put up with," he says.

I am on the East Marsh estate which, according to data collected by The Telegraph columnist Fraser Nelson for an upcoming Channel 4 documentary, is Britain's "worklessness capital".

The data shows that 53% of working-age people here claimed benefits during the first quarter of 2024.

Mr Burns has been homeless for three months – a consequence, he says, of his 14-year relationship ending.

It is raining hard and the 54-year-old is sheltering in a doorway. He has 15 minutes before the food bank, which is run by The Rock Foundation, opens its doors to the hungry.

Sir Keir, through his "Get Britain Working" White Paper, wants people such as Mr Burns back in the workplace rather than relying on charities such as this.

The government has said its plans will boost the size of the workforce with the "biggest employment reforms in a generation".

It wants to get about two million more people into work and has set out plans to expand mental health support, tackle obesity, overhaul job centres and improve opportunities for young people, among other measures.

But Mr Burns sees a problem.

"It sounds good, but it's not plausible," he says. "Of course I want to work. But my problem is I don't have a roof. Every employer wants an address."

Gesturing towards the 309ft (94m) tower, which dominates the North-East Lincolnshire town's skyline, Mr Burns adds: "You can't work after spending a night sleeping under a bridge over there.

"If it wasn't for this place, I'd be on the rob – I'd have to, just to eat. Or dead."

Samantha Palmer, food bank co-ordinator at The Rock Foundation, is also sceptical about the government's plan.

"Is this White Paper going to take into account all the factors that people are dealing with as human beings?" she asks.

As we speak, a staff member unloads boxes of Rice Krispies, ready to be separated into individual food parcels.

Ms Palmer estimates that three in every four people needing food parcels are battling mental health conditions.

"It's a complex problem," she says. "How can you force someone to work who doesn't know how to sustain employment? It just isn't going to work long-term.

"At a very basic level, people need food, warmth and safety before they can do anything else, like work. Most who come to us don't have any of those things."

Demand for food parcels continues to grow, says Ms Palmer. At the moment about 700 parcels are given out each week.

Ray Orr, 42, who has been living rough for a year, on and off, is waiting for a parcel.

"I would say there are a lot of people round here who don't want to work," he says.

"I want to work, but I couldn't sit in a factory all day doing the same thing day in, day out.

"I like my art. I'd like to do tattooing or something."

Like Mr Burns, he believes politicians "do not live in the real world".

"They don't know what it's like trying to get to sleep at night when you are hungry," he says.

Pamela Hodge, The Rock Foundation's chief executive, says the charity has plans to create a "one-stop shop", offering some of the most vulnerable people safe accommodation and job training.

"We're supporting a lot of people who have just been released from prison," she says. "We recently had a man who came to us after being released from prison early.

"He said to us, 'I've no family. No money. No accommodation. I'm going to have to commit more crime to get back to prison, where I know I'll get a bed and three meals a day'."

Around the corner, in nearby Freeman Street, I find supporters of the "Get Britain Working" view.

Builder Dave Johnson is putting the finishing touches to block paving he has installed outside a market hall.

He tells me: "A lot of people don't want to work, especially down here. I'm 57 and have never been out of work.

"It's too easy for people not to work."

However, recently retired refuse collector John Holmes, 69, who is picking up a newspaper, says: "The jobs just aren't out there as they once were."

He cites the decline of Grimsby's once mighty deep sea fishing industry as the source of the town's woes.

In the same street, signs urge shoppers: "Let's keep life moving".

In a statement, the Department for Work & Pensions said: "We’ve inherited a spiralling benefits bill with millions of people with a long-term illness or disability out of work and not getting the support they need.

"We're determined to fix this, and through our 'Get Britain Working' White Paper we'll ensure the system is better supporting people to get them into and stay in work – and, crucially, bring down the benefits bill."

Before leaving, clutching his food parcel, I find Mr Burns spooning extra sugar into his tea.

It will give him more energy ahead of another cold night living in the shadow of Grimsby Dock Tower.

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