Private Sector Pensions

Anne Main Excerpts

Monday 22nd January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Ms McVey]

What we have learned from that is that straight away, eight companies were banned from doing what they had done in any kind of pension scam. We are also going to bring together all the advice under a single body so that people are well aware of what they can and should be doing and whether they have done the right checks to ensure that they are dealing with a positive organisation for their pension.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

Workers have been encouraged to take part in buying their pensions, and they need to have confidence in their scheme. My hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin) mentioned the fact that fat cats are seen to bear no risk in this process. What more can we do to achieve greater transparency in how private pensions work within companies? What can we do to enable people to get the best possible information to ensure that they are not being sold short while other people seem to float high above all the risk?

[Ms McVey]

My hon. Friend raises a key point. There does need to be transparency. A pension is something that people invest in all their lives and hope to recoup when they retire, so transparency is key. Our White Paper will seek to determine best practice and, in parallel, to set out stronger corporate governance within pensions organisations.

Independent Living Fund

Anne Main Excerpts

Tuesday 9th January 2018 Westminster Hall

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is quite right to talk about the importance of the independent living fund to his constituent. My constituent Richard, who is also a recipient, told me, “Words cannot really do justice to what the ILF means to me. It is like oxygen. It allows me to get out and about and not to be isolated—to live the best life I can.” Does my hon. Friend agree that gets to the crux—

[Mrs Anne Main (in the Chair)]

Order. Interventions should be very brief, please; this is getting rather long.

[Jessica Morden]

Does my hon. Friend agree that that gets to the crux of just how important this debate is?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

On the hon. Lady’s point about local authority budgets, to take the west midlands as an example, Birmingham, the largest local authority, has to make cuts of just under £1 billion. In Coventry, that figure is more than £100 million. That is the type of pressure there is on budgets. My view, frankly, is that central Government should never have devolved—

[Mrs Anne Main (in the Chair)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman is making a speech rather than an intervention. I call Patricia Gibson.

[Patricia Gibson]

I take on board what the hon. Gentleman says. We have heard that there is a sense that devolving vital support to local authorities without either ring-fencing it or properly funding it is a way of dodging responsibility. I know that the Minister will seek to address that. Considering how important that support is for people living with disabilities, the situation is not sustainable.

It was deeply disappointing that, in 2010, the Labour Government tightened the fund so that it would accept applications only from people who were working 16 hours or more a week. That was done essentially with no consultation, and it was one of the last acts of the outgoing Labour Government. That was greatly disappointing to many people, particularly given how important the fund is and how many disabled people throughout the United Kingdom looked to the Labour Government at that time to champion their rights and support them. Many would argue—disability organisations certainly have—that tightening the eligibility criteria was the first step towards signing the death warrant of the fund itself, which is deeply unfortunate.

We in Scotland have chosen a different path. The devolution of powers permits various constituent parts of the UK to do things differently if they see fit. That is what devolution is all about. I say in just about every debate that I participate in that I do not really care where a good idea comes from: if it is a good idea, we should all seek to emulate it. I urge the Minister to look carefully at the independent living fund in Scotland. This issue should not be party political. It should be about seeking to do what is best for those who rely on this essential support. Party politics should not come into it. I urge the Minister to look carefully at what is going on in Scotland and to learn whatever lessons she thinks are of use to help to give people in England essential support.

The hon. Member for Wrexham is absolutely right that these are not easy decisions—thinking about how to spend taxpayers’ money is never easy—but most people in society would agree that supporting people with a disability to live independently in their communities and contribute in the best way they can to those communities, which is what they want to do, is worth looking at seriously. This is not easy, but some things are too important for us always to be guided by pounds, shillings and pence.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Anne Main (in the Chair)]

I remind the Minister that Mr Lucas has the right of response, so perhaps she will leave a couple of minutes at the end of her remarks.

--- Later in debate ---

[Marsha De Cordova]

It is not right to say that we are not being truthful because there have been severe cuts to support for disabled people. The introduction of the personal independence payment and the abolition of disability living allowance means that fewer people will receive additional support to help meet the extra costs of living with a disability. The time limiting of contributory employment and support allowance has also led to a reduction in the number of recipients who are eligible for support—

[Mrs Anne Main (in the Chair)]

Order. This is an intervention, not a speech. The Minister is replying to the debate.

[Sarah Newton]

As I said, we are spending more than £7 billion more than in 2010, and the changes we have made to the personal independence payment mean that more people are now eligible for support. People with conditions such as multiple sclerosis and those with variable conditions are now eligible, as are people with mental health problems. We have widened the range of people with health conditions and disabilities who can apply for the personal independence payment.

Universal Credit Roll-out

Anne Main Excerpts

Tuesday 24th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

Last week we had a Labour Opposition day debate on pausing the roll-out of universal credit, and now we are debating the outcome of that Opposition day debate. Universal credit is a great move forward in how benefits are claimed. It is replacing an outdated system—a system which is complex, and which I have seen from my own experience in my constituency discourages people from working for more than 16 hours a week. Many of my constituents have wanted to work more than 16 hours a week and have said that it is just not worth the hassle, because if they were to do more than 16 hours even for a short period, they would be affected and could be left in financial difficulty, with waits for benefits to be reinstated.

Universal credit will ensure that people are better off in work and will make it far easier for constituents who want to work more hours and gradually increase hours to be better off, and to be able to do that without the stress or worry about the impact. This is a gradual roll-out over nine years, moving from 8% of the claimant count to 10%, and all new claimants. The number of people on universal credit as of the summer was 590,000, and 230,000 of them—nearly 40 %—were in work.

As with all policies, implementation is key. Of course when we move from an extremely complex system to a more simple system there will always be things that crop up, which the Government then work to address. That is shown by the fact that the Government are doing a gradual roll-out.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

I am listening to the figures my hon. Friend mentions. Does she recall that the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) said there was mayhem before universal credit was rolled out? I am puzzled by that, as this is a gradual process.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, which serves to show that there are some inconsistencies in the Opposition’s argument against universal credit.

The Government are doing a gradual roll-out, so that testing can take place, and they are then able to modify the implementation based on what is learned from the experience of the practical implementation of the scheme. As Ministers have made clear, claimants who cannot afford to wait can get advances up front. These payments are made straight away. The Opposition are irresponsibly scaremongering in an attempt to frighten existing and potential claimants, and trying to negatively portray the universal credit system as a bad thing, rather than talking about the benefits to the people of this country.

Universal Credit Roll-out

Anne Main Excerpts

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

My argument is that we should not be pausing this. May I just say that I welcome the clear expression of support for the principle of universal credit? That is helpful. The case I will make today is that the principles lead us to a design that is focused on making work pay. It is diminishing the differences between being out of work and being in work, and can make a significant difference.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

rose—

[Lucy Frazer]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main) has just been promoted. The Secretary of State needs to gesticulate whom he means with greater clarity.

[Mrs Main]

I thank the Secretary of State for that promotion. I look forward to receiving it in the post.

Is the Secretary of State any more aware than I am of the topic of this debate? Yesterday, the Opposition wanted to fix universal credit. Today, the word “fix” has been dropped. It seems that the Opposition want to pause but not fix. Has he any greater awareness of this matter?

[Mr Gauke]

That astuteness demonstrates why my hon. Friend should become my right hon. Friend sooner rather than later.

It is a very revealing point. There is no real attempt to fix this. This is about pausing it and wrecking it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean) (Con)]

I will follow your strictures, Madam Deputy Speaker, and be relatively brief.

Let me take first the words on the Order Paper, which do not bear any relation to what the shadow Secretary of State said. She said she was asking the House to support a motion to pause and fix universal credit, but that is not what it says. It is what the title said yesterday, but between yesterday and today all the Opposition are now calling for is for us to pause universal credit and not bother doing any fixing at all.

[Mrs Main]

Perhaps my right hon. Friend needs to look at the Annunciator. We have moved on. We are now not pausing; we are just discussing. There is no mention of “pause”.

[Mr Harper]

I was grateful for my hon. Friend’s earlier intervention, which was taken up. It is a serious point. The former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), made the point that pausing the roll-out of universal credit does not help anybody, given the positive effects it is having on getting people into work and allowing them to progress in the workplace. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made the point that this is both an in-work and out-of-work benefit. That means that those who are out of work and are thinking about taking a job can have the confidence to do so, because it will not mean throwing up in the air all their existing arrangements for paying for their house and supporting their family. They will have the confidence to take on that work and to take extra hours, because they know they will be better off and that if it does not work out they will not have to go back to the drawing board.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

One of the advantages of having been elected to represent St Albans four times since 2005 is that I have a very long grievance and complaints database, as my husband keeps reminding me. I remember only too well the communications on working tax credit that came into my postbag when I first came to the House. People were getting requests for payback of £5,000 or £6,000, pushing their families into absolute misery. It made me realise that the system introduced by Labour was utterly broken. Since then, we have had to try to find a way to simplify the system.

The Secretary of State made an excellent speech. We need to say that universal credit is the way forward. Pausing it today—I understand that the Order Paper now reads “pause”, rather than “pause and fix” as it did yesterday—or halting it, as I notice the Scots nats say, would, in effect, be a wrecking proposal. If that is what the Opposition want to do, despite hearing all the pronouncements that this is a good system, they would be sending totally the wrong message.

The Government are in listening mode, and we are having a slow roll-out. It is excellent that there is autonomy over payments for housing rentals. There are 1,300 people on the housing list in St Albans, and people say to me, “I try to rent properties, but nobody will rent to me as soon as they know I’m in receipt of housing benefit.” At least this way they can take control of their own system. I am pleased that if people find themselves in difficulty, there is a way for universal credit to be paid directly to their landlord. As far as I am concerned, that is a belt and braces approach.

The Government need to listen to the concerns that have been raised, but—for goodness’ sake—we have had 10 years of trying to get away from Labour’s totally flawed system that left people multiple thousands of pounds in debt and squabbling in bureaucracies. Believe me, trying to get on those phone lines was a nightmare. There are teething issues, but—please, please—let us listen to them and learn from them, exactly as my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) said we are doing. Let us have a slow, learning roll-out.

For whatever reason—and in a non-binding vote for the Government—Members should not side with this Opposition motion, when the Opposition flip-flopped overnight about what they actually wanted to do. They are showing that what they really want is to revert to the totally flawed system that caused misery to many of my constituents. That is what will happen if the universal credit roll-out is halted or paused.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

The time limit for speeches is now down to two minutes.

State Pension Age for Women

Anne Main Excerpts

Wednesday 5th July 2017 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

I am grateful to be called so early in the debate. I have 4,000 women in my constituency who are affected by this issue, and I have met many; I am sure other honourable colleagues have done the same. I will have to rattle through my speech. I am sorry not to be as eloquent as I would like on their behalf.

It is a complex picture. Not only do my constituents feel that they were not given adequate information about how to plan their future, but they feel cast on the heap, so to speak, now that they are having to look for jobs. Their experience in the jobcentre has been abysmal. People who have been in senior positions are being given advice on how to dress and present themselves at interview and update their CV. There is nearly 0% unemployment in my constituency, so their chances of getting a job are pretty remote and they are finding it incredibly dispiriting to have to take part in that process.

I would like to mention Daphne—I will not give her second name—who has been instrumental in bringing the issue to my attention in St Albans. What she says reflects the position of many women, and I am actually a WASPI woman as well. She says that generations ago, people did things differently. Daphne started work very young and was only informed of the pension age change in October 2012, two and a half years before she was due to retire. She is married to a man five years older. She says that this was not how she planned to spend her retirement—scraping around trying to get a job, being advised by people at the jobcentre who have absolutely no idea how to get her a job, and feeling a sense of injustice that she was given so little time to plan.

That is the nub of it for the WASPI women. They accept that there should be equalisation in pension age, but what they do not accept is being given a matter of months to turn their lives around—to turn around their future plans with their spouse or partner. They do not accept not having some comfort in their retirement, so that they can live the life they thought they had planned for and had made all the preparation for.

The fact that those letters did not arrive, desperately needs to be looked into by the Minister, and something should be done to redress the imbalance.

State Pension Age: Women

Anne Main Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

Absolutely, I quite take the point that my hon. Friend makes. Clearly, specific issues need to be dealt with for this group, and I am going through several of them now. Some of these people will not be able to work, as I made clear at the start; this touches on one of the four principles I set out at the start of my speech. Working-age benefits are specifically designed to help such people, and I wish to make it clear that this group of women will be entitled to working-age benefits. If there are barriers to their claiming them, we need to remove those barriers.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

I, too, accept that the SNP proposal is totally ludicrous because it is totally unaffordable, but can the Secretary of State give me assurances on what can be done for WASPI women who say that they are finding it difficult to get back into work, with the jobcentres not geared up to help them, and who may have been out of the workforce for considerable time and do not have the skillset needed to get a good job?

[Damian Green]

Absolutely, and if my hon. Friend will bear with me for 30 seconds while I make one further point, I will then deal with precisely the point she raises, as I absolutely recognise it as an issue for many of these women. I should point out that the current average age of exit from the labour market for women is 63.1, which is well above the state pension age of 60 that the SNP proposal would take us back to. The number of older women aged 50 to 64 in work in 2016 stands at more than 4 million, which is a record high. That is one reason why the Government have extended the right to request flexible working and why job search requirements for those who are not in employment are adjusted to take account of individual circumstances. One purpose of the Green Paper on work and health that we have just produced is precisely to look at much better ways to join up the health, welfare and employment systems, so that we can deal with health conditions or disabilities that may be particularly prevalent in older women who want to work. We need to make the system much better than it has been in the past at removing those barriers, so that people can work.

State Pension Age

Anne Main Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman chooses to find a difference, because I do not think that there is one. No one has more respect for the former Pensions Minister than I do; he is a good personal friend and I thought he did a brilliant job as Pensions Minister. As coalition partners, we worked well together. He and I agreed to introduce the independent review in the Pensions Act 2014. Sir John is quite capable of looking at the matter in the round, as we have asked him to do, and making a decision on the basis of “robust, evidence-based analysis”, as set out in the terms of reference. He may yet say, “I see no need to make any change,” but I am prepared to back him on that.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

Our population is growing year on year, principally through immigration, so it is right that we look to the future. Will the independent review look at two scenarios, in which Britain either can or cannot control its immigration, depending on whether we remain in Europe? Will my right hon. Friend be able to see any of the information that comes through on both those scenarios?

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare Reform (Disabled People)

Anne Main Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Fiona O’Donnell) for speaking so passionately on behalf of her constituents. What annoys me is that some Labour Members—not the hon. Lady; I am absolutely certain of that—feel that they are the only ones who feel compassion or concern and that Conservative Members could not possibly be concerned about their constituents. The Minister made a measured opening speech, in which he pointed out that it is what is not being discussed in this debate that is so telling.

The hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) raised many excellent points that could have been discussed at length, but no—the whole debate had to be focused on Lord Freud’s comments and a call for his scalp. My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) spoke passionately —he ditched his speech—and said that this House is so much better when we focus on what we can do, what we can bring to this House and what we can achieve together with a consensual approach.

This whole debate is focused on some ill-judged remarks by a man who has apologised and who has a track record of working with parties on both sides of the House to improve the lives of the disabled. I think that Labour Members who care as passionately as the hon. Member for East Lothian does will realise that this has been a grossly missed opportunity. The right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr Clarke) said that he did not want to talk about Lord Freud. I agree with him, but the whole debate is about Lord Freud when it should be about how we ensure that we get more people with disabilities into work.

Many Members on both sides of the House support charities, and I am proud to say that I am a patron for Mind in St Albans. I was pleased to present the first “way to work” campaign commemorative statuette, which encourages employers to take a flexible and thoughtful approach to working with people with mental disabilities and mental illness. I found it slightly depressing, however, that not many employers in my constituency took up that opportunity. The scheme ran for only one year, which is why I am pleased to renew my efforts to work with Mind. We need to find a way to get more people back into work.

My constituent John supports the Conservative party—that is, when he is not leaving us and voting for UKIP, Labour or another party. He takes a keen interest in politics and has spoken to me on numerous occasions. Sadly, when he was three—44 years ago—he had an accident in which he nearly drowned. It has left John having to deal with profound challenges in his life, but he wants to get into work. That is what this House should be addressing today: how can we improve the lives of people like John who are in the 10% and are finding it difficult? He does not want charity, but he does want the opportunity to engage in society and to have all the benefits that come with work—on top of the monetary ones—and the dignity it brings.

As I have said, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys spoke passionately and suggested a way forward to try to help people like John who have to deal with significant challenges to integrate in the work force, which is where they want to be. Let us not pretend, however, that this is an easy subject and that brickbats can be thrown at the nasty party and people who supposedly do not care. People do care. I think we actually all want the same result—the discussion is about how we get there—but to have a whole debate on the ill-judged remarks of someone who has apologised profoundly for them is a wasted opportunity.

I look forward to hearing the summing-up speeches of the two Front Benchers. Lots of issues have been raised, and I am not saying that there are no problems. My postbag is like any other; I am sure we all know of difficulties with the Access to Work programme and some of the systems that have been put in place. Yes, we can blame the previous lot for leaving us with the legacy of Atos, and yes, we know it is not perfect while we are trying to deal with it, but let us be realistic: people who are having trouble accessing work as a result of disability and mental illness deserve better from this House than what we have heard today. This motion does this House a disservice, because all it does is call for the scalp of somebody who has apologised for his remarks and whose life history shows that he has actually tried to work for the betterment of those people who have difficulties accessing work as a result of disability.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

Employment and Support Allowance Application

Anne Main Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mike Penning]

I have sat down, so it is up to the Chair.

[Mrs Anne Main (in the Chair)]

The Minister has concluded his remarks. We will suspend until 4.30 pm. If there is a Division in the main Chamber between now and 4.30 pm, we will take 15 minutes for that Division.

Job Insecurity

Anne Main Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Umunna]

I am going to make a little more progress and will perhaps give way a bit later.

I was about to go into the shape and the nature of the employment that we see. There are those who are in work but cannot get the additional hours that they want. Over 1.4 million people are working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job; that figure is up by more than a third compared with when this Government came into office. Over 3 million workers—more than 10% of the work force—are underemployed. These are people who are employed but wish to work more hours in their current role or are looking for an additional job or a replacement job that offers more hours. We want to change this.

Above all, as many of my hon. Friends have said, there are those who do not have any security at work but want it so that they can plan and provide stability for their families. Over half a million employees in temporary positions lack any job security because they cannot find permanent roles. Last year, we learned the true extent of the abuse of zero-hours contracts, which my hon. Friends just mentioned, when the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development published its data suggesting that as many as 1 million people are employed on zero-hours contracts. To recap, we are talking about contracts under which the employee is not guaranteed work and is paid only for the work that he or she carries out. In practice, this means that people do not know where the next pay cheque is coming from, are unable to plan ahead, and, in many cases, are constantly living hand to mouth. Of course, insecurity at work increases pressure on the social security budget because it makes it harder for people to borrow to buy a home or to save for their pension. Again, we are determined to change this. We cannot go on like this.

It is important to say—it would be remiss of me not to admit it—that I do not pretend that all this pressure on household incomes and insecurity began under this Government. We do not deny that serious structural issues have grown up over the past three decades under Governments of all different colours, but the question is this: what are this Government doing about it? We are now in the fourth year of this Government: have they made things better or worse?

[Mrs Main]

The hon. Gentleman is making a great speech. I liked the bit where he said that not just any old job will do. Will that be his advice to young people who go to a jobcentre? Will he say, “Don’t get any job—a job where you might learn some skills, find the confidence to get up in the morning, or get a work ethic—but wait for the job of your dreams”? Surely it is better to get people back into work, with the dignity it gives, than just to say, “Wait for that dream job under Labour.”

[Mr Umunna]

The hon. Lady has completely misinterpreted what I said. I was very clear that we want to see more people in work. However, there is nothing wrong with being ambitious and aspirational for the people we represent. There is nothing wrong with wanting people to have more secure work and wanting to ensure that they actually earn a wage they can live off. I make no apologies for that whatsoever.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Umunna]

The Secretary of State has argued that he has resisted some of the nastier aspects of his coalition partners’ moves to water down people’s rights at work, but we need only read the reports of what was said on both sides of the House of Lords to see what impact the “shares for rights” scheme was expected to have. That is the point I was making.

[Mrs Main]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Is it parliamentary language to describe our coalition partners as “nasty”? There has been no proof of that during the debate.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

I appreciate the hon. Lady’s point of order. Of course it is always wise for Members to moderate their language. I make no ruling on whether the word “nasty” is appropriate, but it is certainly not a bad enough word for me to insist on its withdrawal.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

It is an honour to participate in this debate, because we have some really good news in St Albans. I can tell Labour Members that people there appreciate an improving economy under the measures taken by this Government.

Many of my constituents who commute into London because they are part of the knowledge-based economy will have taken a very dim view of taking hours to get to work this morning. It is amazing that Labour Members have not touched on the fact that an estimated £200 million was lost to the economy by the strikes that were called for today and that 3 million hard-working people will have been forced to traipse miles to work or not have been able to get to work. That is thanks to today’s strike, of which Labour Members have refused to take any cognisance.

We are very lucky in St Albans to have an unemployment rate of only 1.6%. Even with that low rate, there have been significant improvements. Youth unemployment stands at 2.6%, which is half the UK average, but apprenticeships have doubled in the past three years. Under the Labour Government in 2007-10, St Albans had only 630 apprenticeships; now, in 2010-13, it has 1,410 apprenticeships.

If the public have been watching this debate, they will have heard a new slogan from Labour Members—“Don’t just take any old job.” I look forward to some analysis of which jobs they think are valuable and which they think are any old jobs. I have in my constituency young people getting into jobs who feel the benefit of the experience that being in the workplace brings.

We have heard nothing from Labour Members today about the fact that if we had obeyed their rules on fuel duty, many of the small businesses that are thriving in St Albans would have found themselves paying 13p a litre more. The hard-pressed families to whom many Labour Members refer are spending £7 a week less under the Conservatives than they would have done if Labour were in power. There has been a great deal of assistance for people who run those small businesses. I notice that Labour Members do not wish to intervene on me when I say that this would have been the state of the economy under Labour.

We do not say that there are no problems. However, there should at least be some acknowledgement by Labour Members of an economy that was so broken by them, that they did so little to fix, and in which they did not even think about fuel prices for small businesses, deliverymen, and all the people in our economy who get themselves to work. They will not condemn the strikes that prevented many people from getting to work, but they are lambasting us for not doing more to get people proper jobs. This is very surprising from a party that said that it wished to see some form of job creation and that the unemployment rate would rise. That has patently proved to be untrue.

What is more, we help the parents who are lucky enough to get into jobs by making their child care more affordable, and, if they go to work in their car, they will find that their fuel duty is lower. We have also increased the amount of child-care time to which they are entitled.

The motion does not reflect the true state of the economy. Nobody is saying that there is nothing more to do—of course there is. When people trudge into work yet again tomorrow, and when so many of us and our constituents trudge home tonight—many people commute into London from St Albans—perhaps the Labour party will reflect on the amount of money that could have been in the economy and the amount of people who could have got to work today. They were prevented from doing so by a union leader who lives in social housing because he feels it is his due, rather than because he needs it, and who has not apologised for the disruption he is causing to the economy that the Government are choosing to improve.

I would welcome a visit from any Labour Member to St Albans, where they will see that there is optimism even in affluent areas such as mine and that people who had found it hard to get jobs are now, through mature and youth apprenticeships, getting jobs and work experience. I defy Labour Members to tell any of them that those are not proper jobs.