Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2015 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

1. What change there has been in the level of unemployment in North West Norfolk constituency since 2010.

[The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey)]

The claimant count in my hon. Friend’s constituency has fallen by nearly 60% since 2010, to just over 900.

[Mr Bellingham]

That is encouraging and unemployment in my constituency has come down by a staggering 908 in the past year, giving hope to a large number of families. Following the story in The Sunday Times last weekend, will the Minister tell the House what support her Department is giving to people seeking employment?

[Esther McVey]

I read the article in The Sunday Times about an episode of “Dispatches” that is being filmed in contact centres. Contact centres do not handle emergency hardship payments, as those are dealt with by Jobcentre Plus. Jobcentre Plus staff are fully trained and no one is sanctioned without being told about hardship payments. Awareness about benefit advances is being raised at the moment, and new posters and leaflets will be coming out in March once claimants have passed on their opinions and worked with the Department to get them right.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Harper]

As the hon. Lady will see if she looks at the latest figures, the programme’s performance has improved considerably—indeed, it has been more successful than previous programmes—and Work Choice is also performing very well. I think that she should have a little more confidence. The document that I published today refers to a range of programmes initiated by Departments whose spending we have protected, at a time when difficult decisions are having to be made across Government to deal with the deficit.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

15. What estimate he has made of the annual change in unemployment in the North West Norfolk constituency over the last three years.

[The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey)]

Over the past three years, the claimant count in my hon. Friend’s constituency has halved, from nearly 1,900 to just over 900.

[Mr Bellingham]

As my right hon. Friend will know, unemployment has fallen by nearly 1,000 in my constituency since May 2010, and by 770 in the last year. Does she agree that we should look behind the headline statistics, and observe that a great many families now have a breadwinner and are hopeful and confident about the future?

[Esther McVey]

My hon. Friend has made a very good point. Frequently, when I am out and about I find that we talk only about statistics and numbers and facts and figures, without making it clear that there are individuals who have found jobs, who are on the career ladder and who are making progress, sometimes while looking after a family or loved one. That is the real story behind the statistics: it is about individuals, their families and their local communities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

I thank my hon. Friend for inviting me up there to see the good work that is done on the ground at his local Jobcentre Plus, including the initiatives that are happening through the flexible fund and the work that is relevant to that specific area. I had a long conversation with Stuart Griffiths, the area manager, who explained how they are helping young people and how they are helping more and more people into work.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith)]

Today, I welcome an important step in our new test and learn approach to delivering universal credit, with the launch of 11 robust evaluation trials to test support for vulnerable households. We are working with local authorities in a way that has not been done before to make available a system of universal support that is delivered locally and that offers tailored help to get online and budget effectively as individuals progress into sustainable work.

[Mr Bellingham]

Is the Secretary of State aware that since July last year, unemployment in my constituency has fallen by a very welcome 689 people? That means that nearly 700 more families have a new wage earner and hope for the future. That is surely a clear vindication of his reforms and our long-term economic plan.

[The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey)]

I welcome everything that my hon. Friend has said about what is happening in his constituency. Such things are happening right across the country. The coalition Government—Conservative and Lib Dem colleagues—are developing a better Britain for all of us.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) (Con)]

3. What timetable his Department is working to for the retendering of contracts to deliver work capability assessments; what progress has been made with such retendering; and if he will make a statement.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

4. When he next expects to meet representatives of Atos to discuss its work for his Department.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mike Penning)]

Although we have seen some improvements in Atos quality, we are still in ongoing commercial discussions. Unlike Atos, we respect the commercial confidentiality of those discussions. It is important to get the procurement right. The previous Administration did not share that view, which is why we are in this mess today.

[Mike Penning]

The issues to do with the work capability assessment and the unacceptable backlog that Atos has built up over the years are due to capacity and quality. The quality, which was very poor earlier on, has been improved. That means that there is now a huge backlog, which is why we are currently in negotiations with Atos.

[Mr Bellingham]

Given that Atos has now announced that it wants to withdraw from the contract that was negotiated with Labour, does the Minister agree that it would be an absolute disgrace if the hard-pressed taxpayer had to pay any form of compensation to the company?

[Mike Penning]

Since we came into power, we have been warning Atos of the need to improve its service. We are seeking agreements with it to ensure that that is done, some of which have not come to fruition. If we terminate the contract today, as the Opposition have suggested, the financial consequences would fall on the taxpayer and not on Atos, which would be absolutely wrong and something that I will not accept.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Grant]

My hon. Friend makes a fair point. Gambling is still a legal activity enjoyed very safely by many around the country.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Maria Miller)]

There is clear evidence of the huge value of the UK’s creative industries in the updated figures we released earlier this month, which revealed that they are now worth more than £70 billion each year to our economy. British creativity can be seen all around the world; so, too, can British sporting success, and next week I will be travelling to Sochi to support Team GB. I am sure the whole House will want to join me in wishing them good luck.

[Mr Bellingham]

Given that tourism is vital to north Norfolk coastal communities and given that recent tidal surges have done substantial damage, will my right hon. Friend ensure that her Department liaises and works with the relevant local authorities?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Tourism is a vital part of our economy. We have invested £137 million in our international GREAT campaign, but we also need to ensure that constituencies such as his, which have been hit by the recent problematic weather, receive support so that they can continue to be attractive tourist destinations.