As I sit here this Tuesday morning musing on what is, what was and what is still to come.
Past couple of weeks I have been on the defensive against the DWP and more specifically Jobcentre+ (I’m clueless to why they have put the + on the end.)
This leads me to the New Enterprise Allowance scheme in general and starting to question its aim to help start ups. As I am sat here musing…(anyone who knows me knows I am really good at musing) I have never spoken to anyone at a head office that works for anything to do with NEA.
However it is there. I know its there as the Jobcentre have to contact them directly. Us public can’t and nor can they by all accounts. Every time I spoke one of the managers at Southampton JCP they keep mentioning they need to send an email to the NEA people and as I also found out the Jobcentre can’t contact them direct either.
Now Enterprise First and the people who help the startups on the New Enterprise Allowance so I contact them. They told me straight they will not give me a contact number for NEA head office.
So what gives?
NEA and Enterprise First will tell you it is your local Jobcentre that deals with it. Dealing with them I found out more or less every member of staff I spoke too either at Bernard Street or over the phone didn’t know what NEA was. Only the manager (a chap called Glenn) and some guy called Richard (who claims to work directly with NEA) are about the only two who really knew. The rest of the staff seem oblivious to what it is.
This makes things really difficult when trying to talk to them. One of the first questions you get asked is “Whats your signing on day?” my answer is “I don’t sign on, i’m on NEA”. This normally gets either a “Whats that?” or “JSA?”
I have been told to write a letter of complaint (again) about my client adviser so been musing over that one. Its one of those moments I know I should but not entirely sure I can be bothered. They have cost me at least two clients now (long story, a blog post for another day.)
With all this aside I have recently been approached by a local charity who need a website. That’s brilliant but brings me back to my own site and how underdeveloped it is. As I promised myself I am back on my own site getting it fixed and looking better and getting content on as if more people are coming to me for web work…
One had better show he can do it.
