Getting people off benefits is about more than forcing them to do job search and threatening them with losing benefits. A new study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation of 6 deprived communities – including Amlwch – finds that the problems are shortage jobs, low pay and poor conditions, and lack of affordable childcare. No surprises there, except that this is a very coherent argument for tackling worklessness by providing work – decent, flexible, family-friendly work.  That you tackle worklessness by tackling the workless should go down as one of the 21st century’s more bizarre ideas. In practice, JRF argue for expanding the Future Jobs Fund in areas with few jobs – like Amlwch, like the south Wales valleys, at the same time as improving pay and conditions and encouraging affordable childcare.  Rather than more ‘helping people back to work’ programmes, WAG could usefully develop the Future Jobs approach and get childcare sorted. Meanwhile, watch the JRF Amlwch video.