Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole

S01E03: Benefits, Babies and Jail

The documentary examining the lives of unemployed people visits South Yorkshire, which has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK and where benefits caps, sanctions and the bedroom tax are hitting those at the poorer end of society. Larry is a 60-year-old ex-steelworker and desperate for work, but says no one wants to hire him as he is considered too old, while father-of-three Kevin is long-term unemployed and back living with his parents in the bedroom he occupied as a teenager.

Overview

Documentary looking at people and families whose sole source of income is benefits and state welfare

Episodes

S01E01 Benefits Brits by the Sea

June 16, 2014 45 min
Documentary examining the lives of people dependent on state welfare in the Norfolk seaside town of Great Yarmouth, where the majority of work is seasonal. Leona and Lee worry about their three-month-old daughter's future when...

S01E02 Benefits House - Me and My 22 Kids

June 23, 2014 45 min
This edition of the programme focuses on large families who depend on the benefits system, including 64-year-old Peter Rolfe, whose children - by 15 different women - range in ages from three to 43, of...

S01E03 Benefits, Babies and Jail

June 30, 2014 45 min
The documentary examining the lives of unemployed people visits South Yorkshire, which has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK and where benefits caps, sanctions and the bedroom tax are hitting those at...

S01E04 Episode 4

July 7, 2014 45 min
The documentary examining the lives of unemployed people visits Hull, which has one of the highest unemployment rates and lowest average weekly wages in the UK. Rebecca is 16 and expecting her first baby with...

S01E05 Episode 5

July 14, 2014 45 min
The documentary examining the lives of individuals on the dole in the UK follows the stories of Roma people who moved to the UK and are now surviving on payments from the welfare state. Ion...

S01E06 Episode 6

July 21, 2014 45 min
The final episode of the series meets 38-year-old Heather, who has 11 children and whose family live in a knocked-through council house on the outskirts of Gloucester. Heather makes nearly £60,000 a year in benefits...

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