Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Philip Hollobone

Monday 7th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

Absolutely; that is exactly right. This is about the measures we take that keep people out of poverty in a sustained way. I have talked already about the rise in the national living wage, but we are also doubling free childcare to 30 hours a week; raising educational standards; and expanding successfully the troubled families programme to a further 400,000 families. In addition, the early years pupil premium is hugely important in helping the most troubled families.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What has happened to the number of workless households since my right hon. Friend became Secretary of State for Work and Pensions?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

We inherited a situation where nearly one in five households in Britain had nobody in work at all. It is far more likely for someone who is out of work to be in poverty and for their children to be in poverty. We have pretty nearly halved that level and have the lowest number of workless households since records began.