The Great British Benefits Handout

The Great British Benefit Handout is a brave new social experiment for Channel 5. Three long-term unemployed families on benefits will each be given a cash lump sum of £26,000 upfront (the current maximum amount of benefits given in a year to most families) in return for signing off. Will the families have what it takes to escape the benefit trap and start a business or get a job? Or will they just blow the lot?

This series lifts the lid on the surprising realities of what happens when Britain’s benefit poor get the chance to rewrite their own lives.

Format:
Series
Genre:
Documentary
Year of production:
2016
Commissioning broadcasters:
Channel 4