Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce unemployment in (a) Oldham West and Royton constituency and (b) the rest of the UK.

The rate of unemployment in the Oldham Local Authority District – using the Annual Population Survey (APS) – was estimated to be 10.0% for the year to December 2010. By comparison the estimate for the year to December 2017 was 5.9%, a reduction of 4.1%. Nationally, the UK unemployment rate, currently at 4.2%, has fallen by 3.8 percentage points since 2010.

In the Oldham West and Royton constituency the Department offers a range of support to help more people move into work and to progress in work. These include ‘Super ESOL’ courses, which focus on the needs of claimants with little or no English speaking skills and ‘Your Experience Matters’ workshops, which are aimed at our older claimants. Through the Jobcentre Plus ‘Support for Schools’ initiative, Oldham Jobcentre is engaged with seven secondary schools in Oldham; supporting careers sessions, careers fairs and ‘mock interview’ days.

Additionally, we continue to work with a range of partners to ensure customers are referred to appropriate services such as Mind, Raise and Groundwork according to their individual needs, and we are working closely with Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council as part of the Universal Support offer to claimants. Jobcentres across the country offer similar support.