Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Timms Excerpts

Tuesday 11th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

It will please my hon. Friend to know that I can confirm that, yes: we will stick to the plan that is getting the recovery going. There is, of course, a vast amount still to do to get our economy back on the right track and to ensure we get more people into work. Nothing would threaten that more than abandoning the economic plan that has got us this far.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

Will the Chief Secretary confirm that the number of people on jobseeker’s allowance for more than two years has quadrupled since the Government came into office? Will he accept that we have a serious long-term unemployment problem that requires Government action, beyond what is happening at the moment, to tackle it?

[Danny Alexander]

The most recent set of figures for the quarter show that long-term unemployment has come down, including in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency. I note, too, that the shadow housing Minister’s flagship programme to build more houses has been cut away by the shadow Chancellor, or is that yet another way they plan to spend their mythical bonus tax?