Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Jobcentre Plus

Monday 7 October 2024 · 4 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 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The current system is focused on addressing past issues rather than current problems.
  • Proposed reforms aim to tackle economic inactivity and improve jobcentre customer interaction.
  • The Minister commended the staff at the Southport jobcentre for their work.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Patrick Hurley Lab Southport
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question arises from concerns about the effectiveness of Jobcentre Plus in reducing economic inactivity and increasing employment rates.

Question

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Jobcentre Plus in helping people get back into work?

Answer from Andrew Western

To be frank, the current system is focused on the problems of yesterday. In the last Parliament, economic inactivity increased and the employment rate fell. We are planning fundamental reforms to the system that will focus on the problems of today and get more people into work, details of which will be set out in our forthcoming White Paper, “Get Britain Working”.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for a recent assessment but received plans for future reforms.

How: To Be Frank, The Current System Is Focused On The Problems Of Yesterday

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Q2 Patrick Hurley Lab Southport
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question pertains to a proposed merger aimed at tackling economic inactivity by better integrating jobcentres with their customer needs.

Question

Will the Minister set out how the proposed merger between Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service will help to tackle economic inactivity and change the way that jobcentres work with their customers?

Answer from Andrew Western

I thank my hon. Friend for his question; I was pleased to hear that one of his earliest visits as the first ever Labour Member for Southport was to his local jobcentre with the Minister for Employment, who I know would want me to commend all the staff at the Southport jobcentre. The truth is that, at present, jobcentres seem to function more as places from which benefits are administered than as centres supporting people into work. The merger of Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service will address that, enabling us to get more people into employment and help those on low pay increase their earnings, through more personalised and localised support, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for details but received a general statement about the merger's goals without specifics.

How: I Thank My Hon. Friend For His Question

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Q3 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
Immigration Housing Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP raises concerns about workforce shortages in rural areas due to high housing costs and a lack of social housing, proposing specific measures for improvement.

Question

The challenge that jobcentres in Kendal and the rest of Cumbria face, as well as getting people back into work, is the fact that our workforce in Westmorland is far too small. The average house price in our constituency is 12 times average earnings, and waiting lists for social housing are through the roof. Some 66% of all employers surveyed in our community recently said that they were working below capacity because they could not find enough staff, so if we want to tackle the problem in our economy, we need to do two things: first, increase the amount of social housing and secondly, allow more flexible visa arrangements. Would the Minister's Department work with housing colleagues to provide more housing grants for our community and sign up to the youth mobility visa arrangements?

Answer from Andrew Western

The hon. Member will be pleased to know that we intend to work considerably more flexibly to support the needs of communities in a varied and bespoke way. He has particular challenges because of the rural nature of his constituency and various other factors, but he will appreciate that I will not make housing or Home Office policy on the hoof from the Dispatch Box.

Not addressed: The MP asked for specific collaboration but received a general commitment to flexibility without concrete actions.

How: I Will Not Make Housing Or Home Office Policy On The Hoof From The Dispatch Box

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Q4 Mims Davies Con East Grinstead and Uckfield
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP references a former minister's negative comments about Jobcentre Plus, asking for an apology to current staff from those who previously criticised the service.

Question

Jobcentres are extremely good, as we just heard from the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier), who is leaving the Chamber. Yet the new Minister for Employment previously described jobcentres as places nobody wants to go, and claimed that they do not offer real help. Our jobcentres help to ensure that almost 4 million more people have work, compared with when her party left office in 2010. More than 2 million of those employed are women. Will the Minister and the DWP team who have made disparaging remarks apologise to work coaches and DWP staff, who she and they have rubbished but who now have to look up to them as the new ministerial team?

Answer from Andrew Western

I fear that the hon. Lady has misunderstood the criticism, which is levied not at our outstanding work coaches but at the policies of the previous Government, who have left us with economic inactivity at its highest rate in years. We are the only G7 economy with a lower employment rate than before the pandemic. Those are the challenges that we have been left with, and the problems that we will solve.

Not addressed: The MP asked for an apology but received criticism of previous government policies instead.

How: I Fear That The Hon. Lady Has Misunderstood The Criticism

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