Britain has launched a package of support for people who lose their jobs, including offering more funding for Jobcentre Plus' Rapid Response Service (RRS), part of the Department for Work and Pensions, which provides support on the ground when companies are looking to make people redundant.

The University of Teesside in northeast England is the first British University to sign a local employment partnership agreement with Jobcentre Plus. The agreement is designed to ensure that the university and its Students' Union can support Jobcentre Plus in assisting those in the local community who have been unemployed for some time.

Juliet Amos, Director of Human Resources at the university said "The whole idea of this agreement fits neatly with the university's corporate social responsibility ethos. We're already in discussions with Jobcentre Plus to pursue the idea of offering work placements or work trials for the unemployed and we're looking to expand them more widely across the university."

Britain unveiled a multi-million pound banking bailout earlier this week, the second of the rescue plans in three months, in a bid to loosen the credit market to prevent the country from sliding deeper into recession.

However, the rescue scheme has augmented concerns over public funds and thus further dampens investment confidence in Britain. As a result, banking shares have plunged dramatically, and the pound has depreciated, falling to a seven-year low against the dollar.

British Chambers of Commerce Chief Economist David Kern said that "since the original bank bailout failed to unblock the paralysis in the credit markets, it was clearly necessary for the government to take further measures. But, the dangers to Britain's public finances are huge.

"If the new measures fail to work the government must be prepared, however reluctantly, to do the lending job directly."

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)