"If the Government do proceed on a pilot basis with moving people across from existing benefits, that would be extremely sensible. Does my hon. Friend share my experience of talking to job advisers and other staff in jobcentres? They are very enthusiastic about universal credit, as opposed to previous benefit …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"The UK labour market is a great success story for this country. The latest labour market statistics have shown that the UK employment level has risen to a near record high of 31.84 million, with the employment rate achieving a joint record high of 74.6%. In particular, the female employment …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"On 4 April we published “Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families”, setting out this Government’s vision to improve outcomes for children who grow up in workless families and face multiple, associated disadvantages.
This Government are committed to creating a country that works for everyone. We want to create a fairer Britain …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"This Government support those who aspire to be their own boss. Self-employment grew by 148,000—3.2%—in the last year to reach a record level of 4.8 million. Self-employment has contributed 30% of the rise in employment since 2010 to the current record levels...." Damian Green - View Speech
"As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government have commissioned Matthew Taylor to review the rights and protections available to self-employed workers. He asked what we have already done. The self-employed now have access to the new state pension, worth an extra £1,800 a year in retirement. We have doubled the …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"I do, and the Government, of course, support that more widely. We are looking all the time at regulations that might hinder the growth of entrepreneurship and self-employment. The actions taken by my Department—for instance, the new enterprise allowance—actively encourage people into self-employment. Some 96,000 new businesses have been set …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"I am confident in the minimum income floor calculation. As the hon. Lady would expect, we have discussions all the time with the Treasury on a wide range of matters. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor said in his letter subsequent to the Budget:
"My hon. Friend makes a good point. Obviously, universal credit is still a relatively new benefit, and many of the self-employed may not be fully aware of the many benefits that arise from it for them specifically. Under UC, self-employed claimants will, for the first time, be offered help to …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"We are making progress on the independent mental health and employers review, which is led by Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer. We are also taking forward an internal review of discrimination law in relation to mental health and work. We continue to look at how we can improve employment support …..." Damian Green - View Speech
"I congratulate my hon. Friend on taking that training, which is very important. She is right that more employers should act. We are now providing a range of support to help employers to recruit and retain people with mental health conditions, including the Disability Confident campaign and the mental health …..." Damian Green - View Speech