"I respect the hon. Gentleman’s view. I described my experience of the last scheme and he has spoken of his personal experience. I am in favour of that kind of scheme. When I was very young and starting out in business, I was able to take on one person under …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. There is a consensus that it is not acceptable if people who are on jobseeker’s allowance do not have to do anything towards getting a job. We can deal with that either by the Government providing a job through a direct subsidy, as the …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, I will make a bit of progress first.
The system means that people are effectively signing an employment contract when they sign on—I have seen such contracts, and the purpose is to get people looking for work. It is a programme of …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"I agree with the hon. Lady, but in my constituency the number of those on jobseeker’s allowance has come down from about 3,600 to, I think, 1,700. I have met a lot of those 1,700 people and chatted to them...." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"I spend a lot of time at Jobcentre Plus—if the hon. Lady and her colleagues have their way, I am sure I will be spending a lot more time there after May next year—but I do that for a serious reason, which is to talk to people on jobseeker’s allowance. …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"If the hon. Lady will excuse me, I have taken enough of Madam Deputy Speaker’s time.
I conclude by referring again to the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who is not here. He painted a picture of the problem with millionaires getting pay rises and everybody else being increasingly …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"I know that the House will be delighted to hear that long-term unemployment in my constituency of Watford is down by 22%. Youth unemployment is down by 33% in the last 12 months alone, and the number of JSA claimants is also down by 27%. Will my right hon. Friend …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"In Watford, as I am sure my right hon. Friend the Chancellor is aware, unemployment is coming down every month, the number of apprenticeships has doubled in the past two years, a new university technical college is opening, and the Government are investing significant capital expenditure on infrastructure in the …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech
"Given Stephen Hester’s excellent career—he had previously spent two years at Abbey National and four years at British Land—and given that he has remained in such an important and high-pressure job for five years, it seems to me entirely reasonable for him to leave after completing the first phase of …..." Lord Harrington of Watford - View Speech