Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Monday 19th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

16. What proportion of the population is economically inactive.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mel Stride)]

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that some 21% of the working-age population are economically inactive.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

As my right hon. Friend will be aware, the staff at Basildon Jobcentre Plus are doing incredible work to help people back into work. That has led to a local inactivity rate that is 12.6% below the UK average. Events such as its large employer-unemployed connection event, bringing together organisations with hundreds of jobseekers, are leading to really meaningful job opportunities. Can my right hon. Friend tell the House what else the Government are doing to get people off out-of-work benefits?

[Mel Stride]

May I first commend my hon. Friend for all the good work he is doing locally? The 12.6% figure for economic inactivity is extremely low and is a great tribute to the work he has just referred to. Other things we are doing include: the provision of job interventions for over-50s who have retired early; the childcare provision I referred to for parents with childcare duties; and a great deal of work on how we better facilitate getting the long-term sick and disabled back into the labour market.