I am 17, live in a geographically and socially isolated rural area, and have neither any form of transport apart from the ridiculously overpriced local buses nor the funds to move elsewhere. After looking for work constantly for a year and finding none, i finally went to the job centre to ask about jobseekers allowance, and was told, in no uncertain terms, that i could not claim until i was 18. I persevered, and after being passed on from beaurocrat to beaurocrat was eventually told that i could claim under severe hardship.I live with my father, who is a student, and on his income alone we have just enough to keep body and soul together and a roof over our heads, so i felt i might qualify for this.

Most of the people i came into contact with at the job centre were perfectly pleasant, sympathetic, and helpful. However there were also a disproportianate number of socially and intellectualy impotent wankers (sorry, but that's the only way to describe them) hiding under the skirts of a faceless beaurocracy and seemingly trying to make my life as hard as possible. Fortunately, i my claim was handled by one of the nice ones, who did everything in his power to assist me, even to the extent of filling out the forms, which i'm terrible at. My claim was processed, or so i thought until three weeks later and no money had appeared. I called the job centre, and spoke to a woman who, if i was feeling,less charitable, i might have called a heartless bitch, and who told me that they had no records of me at all. After the conversation ended, all i could manage was thirty whole seconds of dumbfounded silence followed by a stream of expletives that would make a whore blush. I called again the next day, and was again informed that i could not claim, which illicited much the same reaction.

The overall feeling i get is that the Jobcentre is trying its damndest to make me give up and go rot in a corner somewhere. I still have no money, there is still no work, and even if there was my employer would be under no legal obligation to pay me the minimum wage, as i am under 18. What exactly are 16-18 year olds supposed to do? Stay in school, i suppose, have their soul destroyed AND be impoverished? Perhaps the 16-18s should form an alliance with the over 50s :)

So, in short, the Jobcentre has been distinctly unhelpful to me personally. It has, however, helped many of my friends who are a couple of years older than me get out of the proverbial gutter and into work. I think it all depends on what age you are- too old, or too young, and you're screwed.

And i have worked in the past when i was staying with my mother and payed taxes and NI, so i'm not a complete scrounger! :)

As for the asylum seeker problem? There but for the grace of god go i; some people may be best to remember this. An old saying, but a true one.