Child Poverty Bill

I thank the noble Baroness for her intervention. The importance of this is that work is the main route out of poverty; that is an agreed position of the Government and has been regularly stated by them. It is very easy to overlook the fact that meaningful work—or a very substantial proportion of it—comes from private enterprise. Perhaps I might return to the IFS point that I wished to quote, that, ""the magnitude of the difference in living standards between workless families and families with at least one worker with similar incomes … is difficult to explain"." The key point that I was making last week was on the difference between a pound earned and a pound transferred. I think it is rather easy to explain the difference. The self-respect that comes from supporting yourself, the independence of living on income other than government benefits, and the important social aspects of interacting with colleagues and the public are all benefits that employment gives to people in addition to their wage. Of course, any child living in a household feels those benefits too—the IFS report is very clear on that—so there is universal consensus that promoting and facilitating employment should be at the heart of any strategy to help children out of poverty. Unfortunately, at the end of 13 years of a Labour Government, it is clear that Labour is rather better at talking about that than achieving it. Although we have finally seen a small fall in the headline unemployment rate—the first since May 2008—there are still millions out there seeking work, with 2.3 million people classed as economically inactive but not appearing in the official unemployment figures. The figures for children are just as bad. The new figures show that 2.14 million children, and one in five of the under-fives, are growing up in households dependent on out-of-work benefit. With long term unemployment still rising, now is certainly not the time to become complacent. In an economic climate where jobs are very thin on the ground, enterprise and entrepreneurship are crucial. We need to get people off benefits as soon as possible, before their future earning prospects become permanently damaged. There is a valuable role for enterprise here. The IFS report was specifically commissioned, ""to explore the fact that self-employed families have, on average, higher living standards than would be suggested by their income"." We all accept that where a family is surviving on a low income, it is better for all involved if that income comes not from the Government’s benefit offices but from work. It is now clear that it is even better if the wage earner is working for themselves. The IFS report concludes: ""When comparing households with children with similar incomes, self-employed families with children have higher average living standards than employed families with children … who in turn have higher average living standards than workless families with children ... Both surveys suggest that those in self-employment are less likely than those in employment to experience hardship when experiencing poverty"." What are the Government doing to help families lift themselves out of hardship? Labour policies supporting those wanting to set themselves up in self-employment are very thin on the ground. The New Deal self-employment option covers only 5,000 people a year, and the amount of support for business start-ups is only £400, which is hardly sufficient for a one-man operation and certainly not enough to set up a business that is capable of employing others. Would the Minister not agree that the Conservative work for yourself scheme, a network of business mentors, tied in with substantial loans, would add significant value to the excellent work undertaken by organisations such as the Prince’s Trust? There is much more that I could say about the value to people, and therefore to their children, of getting back into work. The Minister has heard me say much of it previously in our debates last year on the Welfare Reform Act. I am glad that the promotion and facilitation of employment of parents is drafted into Clause 8, but I would like a specific role for enterprise to be added. I beg to move.