Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill

The hon. Lady clearly has a press release that she wants to set out this afternoon. [Interruption...

Will the Minister tell the House how our employment rate compares with that of eurozone countries...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The unemployment rate in the UK is below the average of the eu...

Is it not true that the Office for National Statistics has confirmed that the Government have inc...

If the hon. Gentleman looks at the detail of the ONS labour force survey, he will see that there ...

Is it not the case that the employment rate now is lower than the rate—not the absolute numbers—i...

The hon. Lady must recognise that we are in a very different economic climate from the one in 200...

Is not the issue the fact that sanctions can work if people know the consequences of failure to a...

A clear message was sent that people who failed to participate in schemes could lose their benefi...

rose—

In a moment. For that group of people, it is right that we have the power to mandate them on to d...

A couple of years ago now, the Secretary of State gave an assurance to the House that individual ...

Absolutely. There are no league tables in place. We do not set targets for sanctions; I have made...

Is it not the case that the research on the mandatory work schemes found that, afterwards, people...

The scheme is used particularly for those who are some distance from the labour market. We know t...

Will the Minister give way?

I want to make some more progress. We have four hours, and I am sure that the right hon. Gentlema...

Will the Minister confirm that he intends to appoint an independent person to produce a report on...

I will touch on this in a bit more detail later, but we will appoint an independent reviewer to l...

Could the Minister clear something up? Does he believe that the Court’s judgment is basically abo...

No, there was not a serious oversight; the judgment was about a technicality. The High Court agre...

On the very points that the Minister is making, of course it is right that those involved in the ...

I think that the system is robust and that it does stand up to scrutiny by the courts. That is wh...

Will the Minister give way?

I have given way already to the hon. Lady. I want to make some progress.

As I have made cle...

Following on from the intervention by my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Derek Twigg), who pre...

The High Court upheld the steps that we took in setting out the detail in the regulations. As I s...

rose—

I want to make some more progress.

The Bill will ensure that the Government will not have t...

Will the Minister now confirm that the grounds of good cause in respect of appeals will remain un...

We have been very clear in this amendment. We are confirming the right to appeal, and appeals can...

This is a very dark day for the once-proud DWP, and it beggars belief that this once-proud Depart...

rose—

The hon. Lady will want to reflect on this. The Public Accounts Committee said this about the Wor...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I was going to tell him that this m...

The truth is that jobcentre staff have so little confidence in the Work programme that they are n...

Will the right hon. Gentleman therefore explain to claimants, trade unions and everybody who has ...

I will address that point directly, as the answer is very simple: because this Bill restores the ...

I want to take my right hon. Friend back to the recent intervention of the hon. Member for Perth ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am afraid that no other conclusion can be drawn from that i...

May I bring the right hon. Gentleman back to the Bill? Does he agree with its impact assessment, ...

Right—so a Member of a Government who have just put at risk £130 million of public money says tha...

Does the right hon. Gentleman not recognise that many people in this country will be shocked to l...

The hon. Lady raises an extremely important point, and that is why we have sought to ensure that ...

Is there not evidence in our constituencies of people being taken off benefits for no good reason...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to flag that up. He will know that the DWP’s own guidance says...

More than half the first cohort on the Work programme are in work. Why does the right hon. Gentle...

The hon. Gentleman would do well to pay attention to the DWP’s own statistics and to the judgment...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way to me a second time. If I have read the ...

That is cold comfort to a constituency with the highest youth unemployment in Britain. Does the h...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will in a moment, if the Secretary of State will allow me.

When we look around the countr...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. Youth unemployment is lower than when t...

No. The Secretary of State should set out the detailed individual circumstances of every piece of...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

In a moment.

First, ensuring that the appeal window of 13 months is preserved is crucial fo...

Is it not the case that it is not only the low-paid, but the non-paid that Labour are not backing...

It was the Labour party that opposed the bedroom tax when the Welfare Reform Bill went through th...

I would like to put on the record once again my belief that anyone who can work should work. For ...

The hon. Lady says that those who can work should work. Does she agree that they should be paid f...

I was about to make the point that schemes such as work experience, when they are co-determined, ...

In the Reilly and Wilson v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions court case on 12 February 20...

But the people taking part in the schemes knew at the start that, if they did not take part, they...

I am certain that the 300,000 people the Court says have a claim because of the illegal actions o...

Does the hon. Gentleman disagree with Opposition Front-Benchers, who earlier argued in favour of ...

I have not disagreed with anyone up until now other than the Government, because they wish to den...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way and am sincerely impressed with the passion wi...

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman has misunderstood the situation, but perhaps when the vo...

Jobless households trebled under Labour and increasingly became the norm for the next generation....

Members of Parliament discuss with constituents, and often people away from the constituency, the...

If they want to get on in life, why have they turned down the opportunity to get the training and...

People have received sanctions for a range of reasons. The Government should not overrule a Court...

I do not know whether my hon. Friend has come across such cases, but I have come across a number ...

I fully understand my hon. Friend’s point. As I have said to the hon. Member for North Swindon (J...

That is not true.

From a sedentary position, the Minister says that that is not true, but I hope he will clarify th...

Let me clarify that now. When the High Court issued its judgment, we changed the letters to compl...

That is debatable.

Finally, what is the Department’s understanding on whether section 27 of...

It is an honour and pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery). My co...

In the case of one of my constituents, it took three months to determine whether he should be san...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. It is abundantly clear that the system is not robus...

Does my hon. Friend agree that what this tells us is that we need root and branch reform of how D...

I agree with my hon. Friend. I also want to come back to the point I made at the beginning. Staff...

We all support high quality training and work experience, but the court case to which the Bill re...

I can only wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. Members of the public expect better from the...

Some of the newer Members might not realise this, but under the last Conservative Government, peo...

My hon. Friend and I are of an age to remember when people were being paid pitifully poor wages, ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the only consequence of this judgment will be to put claimants in ...

My hon. Friend is correct. It is as if time has stood still for all these people. The only thing ...

If we had to pay out this £130 million, we would have to find it from another group—potentially o...

In life, when things regrettably go wrong, we have to face the consequences. I firmly believe tha...

It is a pleasure to follow the thoughtful contribution from the hon. Member for Dumfries and Gall...

Does the hon. Lady think that the small number of Government Back Benchers present in the Chamber...

It is very disappointing, but what disappoints me even more is that I suspect that we will be ver...

Does the hon. Lady agree that one of the most awful aspects of the Work programme is the way in w...

I could not agree more. The schemes that are run by experienced voluntary organisations are often...

Over recent months, I have asked the Minister of State a number of questions about the sanctions ...

Order. I think it is, and I am going to rule that it is, so I am sure the hon. Lady will not want...

I withdraw that word, Mr Deputy Speaker.

The Minister suggested that claimants knew the con...

May I point out that, actually, sanctions are not automatic? Sanctions may be applied, because ac...

As I said, the judge said that

“the information given concerning sanctions is unclear and o...

I feel proud of a whole range of speeches that have been made. They have been principled and have...

Does my hon. Friend agree not only that the Government have shown no contrition whatever on the i...

It is that, but there is also a wider agenda of making people feel guilty just because they are o...

Order. There seems to be a phone ringing somewhere. Wherever it is, we can certainly hear it.

It is most probably someone looking for a job.

Let us hope that somebody answers it, then.

Before we vote tonight, it is important we know that we will be voting to support the workfare sc...

Is my hon. Friend aware that there are companies that do the same, but with people who have not c...

The whole point of the exercise, as far as I can see—despite the arguments that it makes people j...

The Bill is not perhaps what some people think it is, nor perhaps what we would like to debate. I...

It is not often that, when I rise to oppose a Government Bill, as I do again on this occasion—for...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and a very good point about where money could be fou...

My hon. Friend, who is very knowledgeable and has a background as an economist, has hit the nail ...

It is worth noting that, according to the Government’s impact assessment of that delegated legisl...

That just goes to show that we are all in this together—or rather, we are not.

I have seen ...

Will the hon. Gentleman just remind the House why Labour always had a lower rate of tax for rich ...

We need to look at the situation we are in now. This is the wrong thing to do: it is unjust and u...

Thank you very much for calling me, Mr Deputy Speaker. I apologise to you, the House and the Mini...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

Let me just finish this example. Mr RE told me that Seetec was unwilling to discuss the matter an...

The right hon. Gentleman said earlier in his speech—I tried to intervene at the time—that the pro...

I apologise to the right hon. Gentleman for delaying his intervention. My understanding—the Minis...

Lord Justice Burnton made it clear—I think I quoted him before the right hon. Gentleman arrived—t...

I did hear the hon. Gentleman and I accept what he said.

My fourth constituent was sent to ...

Is the right hon. Gentleman saying that to impose a sanction over a menial task on a highly quali...

We could have a complicated and long debate. Should people in this House, if they find themselves...

I am listening carefully to what my right hon. Friend has to say. As the Minister of State, Depar...

I absolutely understand and agree with that point. That is fine for all people of that type. In t...

With the leave of the House, Mr Deputy Speaker, I shall respond to the debate.

We have hear...

I want to thank all Members who have taken part in the debate today, and I will answer in turn al...

Will the Minister give way?

I will make some progress, as I have many questions to get through.

I want to offer clarifi...

The problem in my constituency is that there are no jobs. People can have all the training they w...

Obviously, the hon. Gentleman will be pleased to hear that the past 11 consecutive months have se...

Will the Minister give way?

I want to progress a little further.

There is one voice that we have not heard here today. ...

Could the Minister explain how amendment 1 to clause 1, in the name of her right hon. Friend the ...

It is to clarify the right to appeal—I did not actually hear the full question.

Can the Minister explain how amendment 1 to clause 1, which is in the name of her right hon. Frie...

The right to appeal remains. That is the answer.

Companies said that the mandatory scheme h...