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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/12/in-praise-of-cait-reilly
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In praise of … Cait Reilly | In praise of … Cait Reilly |
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Every new benefit rule is justified by the cliche about forcing claimants to "play by the rules". It would take a real Scrooge to accuse Cait Reilly of not doing so. The shy 24-year-old had hoped to work in museums after graduating in geology, and set herself up with a placement – initially working for the minimum wage, and latterly unpaid – to kickstart a career. The jobcentre, however, had other ideas – and packed her off to Poundland to graft for free. The resulting legal battle culminated on Tuesday in a court of appeal ruling that struck down the workfare scheme she'd got caught up in. The obscure reasoning was that the welfare secretary had prescribed an insufficiently prescriptive interpretation of prescription in his regulations. Or something like that. But the point is that Whitehall had assumed a free hand in foisting arbitrary, harsh conditions on unemployed people. Cait Reilly has caught it out – for failing to play by the rules. | Every new benefit rule is justified by the cliche about forcing claimants to "play by the rules". It would take a real Scrooge to accuse Cait Reilly of not doing so. The shy 24-year-old had hoped to work in museums after graduating in geology, and set herself up with a placement – initially working for the minimum wage, and latterly unpaid – to kickstart a career. The jobcentre, however, had other ideas – and packed her off to Poundland to graft for free. The resulting legal battle culminated on Tuesday in a court of appeal ruling that struck down the workfare scheme she'd got caught up in. The obscure reasoning was that the welfare secretary had prescribed an insufficiently prescriptive interpretation of prescription in his regulations. Or something like that. But the point is that Whitehall had assumed a free hand in foisting arbitrary, harsh conditions on unemployed people. Cait Reilly has caught it out – for failing to play by the rules. |
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