Oral Answers to Questions

David Duguid Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

I am certainly not going to start making policy up on the hoof at the Dispatch Box this afternoon or promising more money for statutory sickness pay. That would require discussions across Government, but I note the point that the hon. Gentleman has made.

[David Duguid (Banff and Buchan) (Con)]

T2. I welcome this Government’s back to work plan and the emphasis on work being the most effective way out of poverty. What support can be made available for people in high unemployment areas to travel or relocate to areas of low unemployment such as Banff and Buchan, which have high numbers of vacancies, particularly in the seafood processing sector?

[The Minister for Employment (Jo Churchill)]

I thank my hon. Friend and note his relentless support for the seafood industry more broadly and the processing industry in particular. I understand that the former Minister for Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman), visited Scotland earlier this year to look at that industry. Work coaches offer tailored employment support to all jobseekers and the flexible support fund is available at the discretion of jobcentres to purchase goods and services, including travel, to support claimants to move from one area to another in order to take up job opportunities. I know that my hon. Friend is working hard in his local area to find solutions, and I am always happy to discuss ideas with him.