Improving Lives: Green Paper

Debate between Lord Fink and Lord Freud

Monday 31st October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

I very much regret having to say that we are not in a position to look again at that measure. The WRAG was not doing what it was designed to do. What we are now looking at in the Green Paper is how to separate the financial aspects of the benefit from the support that people require.

[Lord Fink (Con)]

My Lords, what is my noble friend the Minister doing to help employers take on disabled people?

[Lord Freud]

It is clear that many people who happen to have a disability have immense talents and valuable skills, which employers should want to tap; they will miss out if they do not. We already offer some support—for instance, Access to Work—and we are increasing that spending. The consultation will ask employers what they need from government to help them recruit and train disabled people.

Employment: Job Creation

Debate between Lord Fink and Lord Freud

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

I am not sure that the noble Lord has caught up with what has been happening in the world in the last year or so, when the developing world has fallen apart.

[Lord Fink (Con)]

My Lords, what has happened to the pernicious problem of structural unemployment during the time when overall employment has fallen?

[Lord Freud]

We have seen today a series of records on employment—but the most important part of those is how we are beginning to see real inroads among the people who have been excluded from the economic life of the country. The number of children in workless households and the number of workless households are the lowest on record, and the number of workless households in the social rented sector is the lowest on record. Lone parent employment is at a record high—and an important measure, economic inactivity, is now at the lowest rate since 1991.

Child Poverty

Debate between Lord Fink and Lord Freud

Wednesday 8th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

We will clearly go on reporting on the HBAI measure. As a legal target it is very dangerous, and we have just seen why. In 2011, the IFS projected a figure which was wrong by 5 million children. The IFS thought that there would be 5 million more children in 2013-14 than there actually were when the figures came out. If it is a legal target, you have to start working to reduce your poverty by 5 million children—sorry, half a million children, not 5 million. That is completely unforecastable and implies huge unnecessary costs on the state.

[Lord Fink (Con)]

My Lords, how do the Government intend to help the 390,000 children who live in workless households? What measures do they have to do this?

[Lord Freud]

The number of children in workless households has been coming down rapidly. It has come down by 390,000 and is now at a record low. We are looking to encourage more families back into the workplace through the financial incentives around universal credit, the new national living wage—clearly, a very direct incentive—and free childcare, and we are working to boost the number of apprenticeships from 2 million under the last Government to 3 million under this one.