Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
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Monday Volume 591 26 January 2015 No. 99 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Monday 26 January 2015 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2015 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 545 26 JANUARY 2015 546 Mr Duncan Smith: What went wrong was the Youth House of Commons Contract, full stop. The money used for the YouthContract actually went to invest in people who had greatest Monday 26 January 2015 disadvantage, and when we set up our other programmes, including the Work programme, we outperformed anything the Youth Contract had. Furthermore, work experience The House met at half-past Two o’clock was not available to young people under the previous Government for any great length of time, whereas we have had more than 50% of people on those work PRAYERS experience programmes go back to work. More young people are in work now than when we came into office; [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] they were left by the disaster of the previous Government. Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab): Young people remain at a distinct disadvantage in the labour market. Oral Answers to Questions The statistics published last week show that for the third month in a row overall unemployment came down but youth unemployment rose. Does the Secretary of State have any new proposals to tackle this problem of currently WORK AND PENSIONS rising youth unemployment? The Secretary of State was asked— Mr Duncan Smith: I do not know whether the right Innovation Fund for Young People hon. Gentleman has actually looked at the figures correctly. He will find that under this Government youth unemployment has fallen; there are now more young 3. Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con): What people in work; and youth unemployment is at a lower recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of level than the previous Government left us in 2010, the innovation fund for young people. [907175] after they crashed the economy. I might also remind him that they used to put young people on short-term The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain programmes. As soon as they did that, they took them Duncan Smith): I set up the £30 million innovation fund off the register and started them as though they had four years ago to test cutting-edge projects for helping begun looking for work then, rather than being six months disadvantaged young people: some of those most at risk in. The previous Government gerrymandered the figures of becoming NEET—not in education, employment or and they still failed. training—or falling in with gangs. Using social impact bonds, these projects are now proving they can deliver a return on the investment; 16,600 positive educational Stephen Timms: At the time of the general election and employment outcomes have been achieved, each the rate of youth unemployment was two and a half one an improvement in a young person’s prospects. times the overall level of unemployment. Since then, the relative position of young people has steadily worsened, Stephen Mosley: One key factor of the innovation to the point where last week the youth unemployment fund is the use of social investment. How effective does rate was 2.9 times the overall rate of unemployment. my right hon. Friend think social investment has been? Judging by his answer, the Secretary of State may not What future does he foresee for social investment in have noticed that youth unemployment is currently future projects from his Department? going up. Is it not now high time for a compulsory job guarantee, so that young people have the chance of a Mr Duncan Smith: The interesting thing about this job at the start of what should be their working lives, development, which I hope has support on both sides of instead of spending years on unemployment benefit? the House, is that these social investment bonds have advanced dramatically in the past four years, making Mr Duncan Smith: The reality is quite different from the UK now a world leader in this, with lots of different that set out by the right hon. Gentleman. Youth Governments coming to ask how to implement it. With unemployment is down 171,000 on the year—nearly a the tax relief that we have granted to social investment fifth; 7.1% of all young people are unemployed and not bonds, the future funding in many of these projects will in full-time education; and the number of young people involve more and more decisions being able to be taken on jobseeker’s allowance has fallen every month for that by local government; it will be able to set individual past three years. The truth about this is quite the projects up and fund them, without recourse to government, opposite to that he suggests. The previous Government but with a return. So we will be paying for things that left us with young people unable to get work experience happen rather than things that might happen—that is and unable to get jobs, and a real stagnation problem, the key. with young people not being able to get the skills necessary. Youth unemployment is now falling. Youth Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab): But employment is rising—[Interruption.] No; since the ending the wage incentive part of the Youth Contract last Parliament youth unemployment has fallen. Youth eight months early was a tacit admission of its failure. employment is rising. Once in a while it would be nice if Only 10,000 young people completed the contract, whereas the right hon. Gentleman got up and said, “You know 160,000 were budgeted for. Can the Secretary of State what, the last Government got it wrong. Thank you for tell us what went wrong? getting it right.” 547 Oral Answers26 JANUARY 2015 Oral Answers 548 Mental Health (Employment Opportunities) Mr Harper: The hon. Gentleman is right. One thing we are doing through our Disability Confident campaign 4. Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con): What progress he is ensuring that employers are aware not only of those has made on supporting people with a mental health with physical disabilities but of those with mental health condition to find work. [907176] problems. There was, for a period, a statutory bar on Members of Parliament serving in this House in this 8. Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con): respect. When I was in Opposition I challenged the then What progress he has made on supporting people with Justice Secretary on the matter, and this Government a mental health condition to find work. [907180] have now delivered change to ensure that we set a good example. We now say that if someone has a mental The Minister for Disabled People (Mr Mark Harper): health problem, they are just as capable as anyone else The Government are committed to helping people with to work both as a Member of Parliament and as staff in mental health problems into work. We are piloting a the House. number of innovative approaches to employment support for those with mental health problems, and the Access Mr Speaker: On that matter, the Minister of State to Work mental health support service can help people wisely heeded the recommendation of the Speaker’s with a mental health condition who are absent from Conference on Parliamentary Representation, which work or who are finding it difficult to get back into enjoyed all-party support. work. Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): Mark Menzies: Mental health issues in Fylde are as Voluntary-sector organisations working with the most serious as they are anywhere else, so what plans does the vulnerable claimants are expressing concerns that people Minister have to support further people with mental with mental illness are still over represented among health conditions throughout the Disability Confident those being sanctioned. Does the Minister accept that campaign? there is still a problem here, and what more can he do about it? Mr Harper: I am pleased that my hon. Friend mentions the Disability Confident campaign. I have invited Members Mr Harper: Just before I answer the hon. Lady, let me from both sides of the House to talk about Disability say that I am happy to agree with you, Mr Speaker, that Confident at an event in the House on Wednesday. your conference showed great leadership, which we Specifically on mental health, I had the privilege last were happy to follow. I think that it is wise to acknowledge Thursday to visit the constituency of my hon. Friend that from the Dispatch Box—[Laughter.] The Secretary the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) and to of State says keep going. The hon. Lady makes a meet with the work coaches in the jobcentre and with serious point about sanctioning. We have to make sure those who have been on some of our pilot programmes in the Department and Jobcentre Plus that if someone to hear about the success we have had in encouraging on employment and support allowance does not engage people with a mental health problem to get back into with the help they are given, we understand why they do work, or to avoid having one in the first place. not engage with it and then deliver proper support. Last week, when I was looking at the pilots, I was trying to Rehman Chishti: Will the Minister join me in recognising see how we better engage with that mental health support the importance of the voluntary sector in helping those to ensure that we give people the support both to stay in with mental health issues to get back into work? work, and to get back to work, if they have a mental Organisations such as Relate in my constituency work health problem.