Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sally-Ann Hart (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

2. What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of people who are economically inactive.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

3. What recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the level of economic inactivity in the labour market.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

19. What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of people who are economically inactive.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mel Stride]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend that work is the best route out of poverty, and in that regard I commend her for her private Member’s Bill, which the Department is pleased to support. Our low unemployment rate demonstrates our extensive support for those moving into work; universal support has been replaced, as she may know, by Help to Claim, which provides tailored support to individuals making a universal credit claim across England, Scotland and Wales.

[Daniel Zeichner]

The economy is plagued by labour shortages, from care to hospitality. On Saturday, 200 bus services in Cambridge were cancelled because of a lack of drivers, leaving health workers unable to get to and from their places of work. After a decade of zero-hours and short-term contracts, it is no surprise that people want out—they do not want to be at work because it is too tough. Is it not time for the Government to recognise that good workplace rights are not just good for workers, but good for employers and good for us all?

[Mel Stride]

I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman. He is right to raise the issue of economic activity. That will be a major focus of mine as Secretary of State: we have 9 million people who are economically inactive, and we desperately need to get as many as we can into the workforce, not least because under this Government we have very low unemployment, very high levels of employment and 1.25 million vacancies in the economy.