Contributions
965 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Welfare CapI thank the right hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene briefly to say that the child poverty taskforce’s work is ongoing, and that it regularly engages with…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Welfare CapI did make the case for the overall welfare cap and for that policy at the beginning of my speech, because it is important that we have proper controls on public spending. Fantasy…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Welfare CapI am glad that my hon. Friend is proud to be a Labour MP, as am I, and I am glad he is proud of the approach we are taking on employment, because so am I. We cannot afford this…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Welfare CapI think I am being asked whether we stopped the extensive work that the previous Government were doing on rising inactivity. I have to say that when I got into the Department for…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Welfare CapI agree with the hon. Lady. Can we just take this moment to thank the DWP team in St Albans? They sound like they are doing a great job and they are also briefing their local MP,…29 Jan 2025HANSARD Welfare CapWe published in November an extensive reform programme for the Department to get Britain working. We showed how in some parts of the country—I will come to this in more detail…29 Jan 2025HANSARDBudget 2024: UnemploymentI thank my hon. Friend for her important question. I know she met my colleague the Minister for Social Security and Disability recently, and I am sure that their conversations…16 Dec 2024HANSARDBudget 2024: UnemploymentThe Budget made the choices needed to fix the foundations of our economy. Taking those into account, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that unemployment will fall to…16 Dec 2024HANSARDBudget 2024: UnemploymentI have brought forward proposals to get Britain working, together with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Secretary of State for Education, and Secretaries of State…16 Dec 2024HANSARDBudget 2024: UnemploymentI make no apologies for having ambition for people in our labour market. The figure was always an ambition, because Labour Members want our jobcentres to shift away from pointless…16 Dec 2024HANSARD“Get Britain Working” White Paper: EmployersWe have all been there, Mr Speaker. Businesses are crying out for staff, yet only one in six employers uses jobcentres. Our “Get Britain Working” White Paper will revolutionise…16 Dec 2024HANSARDBudget 2024: UnemploymentThat question demonstrates the quality analysis I would expect from recently engaged economists on the Labour Benches. The Minister for Skills and I have been working closely on…16 Dec 2024HANSARDBudget 2024: UnemploymentAnybody who sees that, in the British economy, there are nearly 1 million young people out of work or training—not doing anything—would say that is a dreadful legacy left by the…16 Dec 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe child poverty taskforce is considering all children across the UK in all aspects of our child poverty strategy. We recognise the distinct challenges of poverty faced by…16 Dec 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman is right to raise the condition of children living in poverty in this country. That is why, as I mentioned earlier, the child poverty taskforce is doing…16 Dec 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI refer the right hon. Gentleman to the OBR report that says that overall, employment will go up.16 Dec 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe still have more than 800,000 vacancies in this economy, and businesses are crying out for staff. That is why, through our reform programme, we are determined that the DWP will…16 Dec 2024HANSARDPoverty ReductionThe statistics my hon. Friend has read out are, I am sorry to say, consistent with those of the Trussell Trust, which distributed 61,000 emergency food parcels in 2010. Last year,…16 Dec 2024HANSARDPoverty ReductionMore people in good jobs is the foundation of our approach to tackling poverty. That is why we have set out the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation, on top of…16 Dec 2024HANSARDPoverty ReductionI thank the hon. Lady for the question that she rightly puts to this House. We have increased the number of staff working on pension credit by over 500, and are working very…16 Dec 2024