Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Economic Inactivity: Working-age People

Monday 6 March 2023 · 8 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 6 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial review of economic inactivity among working-age people will be shared with the House shortly.
  • Discussions with Treasury colleagues on tax policy, including pensions, are ongoing to support workforce participation.
  • Review aims to address prematurely retired individuals over the age of 50 to encourage their return to the workforce.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stephen Hammond Con
Economy
Context

The question arises from concerns about high levels of economic inactivity and the need for action to address this issue.

Question

What steps he is taking to reduce levels of economic inactivity among working-age people?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

The Prime Minister has asked me to review the matter of economic inactivity, and the results of that review will be shared with the House shortly.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify steps being taken or timeline for action

How: Under Review

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Q2 Rob Butler
Taxation Employment
Context

The question addresses the importance of removing tax disincentives to encourage working-age people back into the workforce.

Question

What discussions is he having with Treasury colleagues about ensuring that tax policy, especially on pensions, does not stand in the way of people who have skills and experience staying in, or returning to, the workplace?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important matter, which of course is well known to the Chancellor and Treasury colleagues. We have a variety of discussions with the Treasury on those kinds of matters and others. Of course, tax policy is a matter for the Treasury.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify details or timeline of discussions

How: Tax Policy Is A Matter For The Treasury

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Q3 Stephen Hammond Con
Employment
Context

The question focuses on measures targeting over-50s who have left the workforce, particularly those in self-employment or part-time roles.

Question

Can he confirm that his review will look at measures to bring those people back into the workforce?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

I can reassure my hon. Friend that we are most certainly looking carefully at that particular cohort of people who have prematurely retired—if I may use that term—and are over the age of 50. It is one of the biggest cohorts that we are trying to encourage back into the workforce, and I will have more to say on that matter in due course.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify measures or timeline for action

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Q4 Emma Hardy Lab Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice
Employment
Context

The question stems from the recognition that flexible work arrangements can support those returning to work, particularly among over-50s.

Question

Will the Secretary of State back Labour's plan to make flexible working a force for good for all workers?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

I very much welcome the hon. Lady's question—I certainly enjoyed my time working with her on the Treasury Committee, where she raised these matters with great passion. She is absolutely right that flexible working is the way forward, and not just for the over-50s but often for those who have disabilities. This is a big opportunity that we need to seize.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify support or opposition to Labour's plan

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Q5 Steve McCabe Lab
Education Employment
Context

The question is based on the latest figures revealing that there are 788,000 young people not in employment, education or training.

Question

Does the Secretary of State regard that as an acceptable figure, and if not, how and when is he going to tackle it?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

Even one person in the circumstances that the hon. Gentleman refers to is one too many. We are going to come forward very shortly with further measures on how we address those particular people, and at the time of the Budget on 15 March—which is very close now—the hon. Gentleman will probably learn more.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify acceptability or specific plans for tackling NEETs

How: Measures Coming Soon

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Q6 Jon Ashworth Lab
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question concerns the government's struggle to convince the OBR that their inactivity plan will meet targets, and the issue of childcare costs acting as a barrier to work.

Question

Why has he now frozen the childcare cost cap in universal credit for the seventh year in a row?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

As to whether the OBR is or is not scoring the various measures that are being presented to it by the Treasury, I am intrigued as to how the right hon. Gentleman seems to know that it is having problems. The OBR operates under conditions of utter confidentiality in these matters, and I would not doubt that that is the way it has proceeded this time around. As for childcare, he is absolutely right. He will have to be a little patient—I know that he sometimes struggles to be patient—and we will then come forward with measures, and no doubt we will have something to say about the matter he has raised.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify reasons for freezing childcare cost cap or timeline for addressing issue

How: Obr Operates Confidentially, He Will Be Patient

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Q7 Jon Ashworth Lab
Benefits & Welfare Children & Families
Context

The question questions the government's strategy on tackling inactivity, specifically regarding childcare cost caps under universal credit.

Question

Will he make universal credit work by introducing more flexibility in how it operates, or is he prepared to punish hard-working parents by pushing them into more debt?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

I am afraid that I am just going to have to repeat what I have said, which is that the right hon. Gentleman will have to be patient. I am confident that we will have some things to say about the matters he has raised, but he will just have to wait another couple of weeks before he learns what we are doing.

Not addressed: Did not address flexibility or approach to childcare costs directly

How: He Will Be Patient, Wait For More Information

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Q8 David Linden SNP
Economy Children & Families
Context

The question highlights the increase in sanctions post-pandemic and their impact on pushing people into destitution.

Question

Can the Secretary of State come to the Dispatch Box and outline how plunging people into poverty helps deal with economic inactivity?

Answer from Mel Stride (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

I am surprised, in a way, that the hon. Gentleman raises the issue of poverty, because what we have seen, certainly since 2010 and under this Government, has been absolute levels of poverty declining and fewer children growing up in workless homes, for example, in distinct contrast to Governments prior to my party coming into office.

Not addressed: Did not address question on sanctions directly

How: Contrast With Previous Governments, Levels Of Poverty Declining

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