The benefits maze

Manager of the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Unemployed Workers' Centre, Denis Hackett, feels the bureaucratic nature of the present system prolongs what is a painful experience for most.

He said: "This has been the worst period I have known and I've been here for over 25 years. There have been people who have lost their jobs who have never been unemployed before in their lives.

"For people in that position, the forms and the claims processes are horrifying because they are so complex.

"Some of these forms would frighten a ghost - when we've got experienced welfare workers, like me, who struggle with these things what chance does someone who has never had the problem of unemployment have?"

For full story see this week's Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle.