Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Cunningham and Andrew Murrison(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Dr Murrison
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. Given her background, she will be aware of the efforts that the Government are putting in to get people into jobs in the public sector. We start in the Departments where perhaps we have some control over: the health and care sector and the prisons service, notably, are good examples, but there are others, including the civil service. The Government will work with charities and others—the Office for Veterans’ Affairs has primacy in that—to ensure that, across Government, we are doing our very best to get people who have a great skill set into jobs.
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Cunningham and Andrew Murrison(9 years, 2 months ago)
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Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
10. What steps the Government are taking to reduce the cost of living in Northern Ireland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Dr Andrew Murrison)
Cutting income tax, freezing fuel duty, welfare reform, dealing with the spectacular deficit we inherited and keeping interest rates low are practical examples of how this Government are helping hard-pressed families in Northern Ireland.
Alex Cunningham
The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action estimates that introducing the living wage would see 173,000 low-paid employees receive an average gross pay rise of £1,300 a year. Will the Government look at strengthening the living wage to help Northern Ireland, which has the lowest private sector pay in the UK?
Dr Murrison
The hon. Gentleman will, I hope, have seen the Institute for Fiscal Studies incomes report published earlier this month. It marked a major milestone, for it is now clear that average incomes in Northern Ireland are back from the pit they were in prior to Labour’s deficit crisis. The IFS further forecasts that incomes will rise above inflation in the year ahead, and I hope the hon. Gentleman will welcome that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Cunningham and Andrew Murrison(9 years, 3 months ago)
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Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
9. What steps the Government are taking to tackle youth unemployment in Northern Ireland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Dr Andrew Murrison)
The questions are timely because last week’s figures show that youth unemployment in Northern Ireland has fallen by 3.3 percentage points over the year, and is 175,000 lower than in May 2010. The Government’s long-term economic plan is promoting a sustainable economic recovery from the mess we inherited, and it is directly assisting young people into real jobs that have a future.
Dr Murrison
Female unemployment is of course a concern right across the United Kingdom, as is unemployment in general. I would observe the number of apprenticeships being created by this Government. It is important that we get young people, male and female, into jobs for the long term, and not indulge in short-term gimmicks.
Alex Cunningham
The chief economist of Ulster Bank has said that under-25s are failing to participate in Northern Ireland’s labour market recovery. Does the Minister agree that we need to address young people’s prospects, and will he welcome the Heenan-Anderson commission, which will examine skills and education?
Dr Murrison
I certainly welcome any comments from any commission that are worth reading. I would add that the commission recently set up by the Labour party to look into problems in Northern Ireland, chaired by Deirdre Heenan, has started somewhat poorly. She said by tweet, within minutes of being appointed, that the
“key issue for Labour is a lack of distinct policies”.