Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Esther McVey and Russell Brown(9 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)
Responding on the issue of youth unemployment, the Minister for Employment painted a rosy picture, but she needs to take additional action in rural areas, especially those such as mine, where youth unemployment continues to rise month on month and the whole economy is based on agriculture and tourism. What additional support does she think she can genuinely give to areas such as mine?
Esther McVey
We have provided a whole array of support. We measured what was working best and asked how we would roll that out. By working with businesses, we found that the answer was work experience, the sector-based work academies, and apprenticeships; we have introduced 2 million of those—and it is national apprenticeship week. Getting young people into a job is about skills, including employability skills, and we are doing as much as we can.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Esther McVey and Russell Brown(11 years, 3 months ago)
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Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)
5. What recent progress she has made on promoting equality for disabled people.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)
Recent progress includes our cross-Government disability strategy, “Fulfilling Potential—Making it Happen”, which was published on 2 July, and the launch of our two-year Disability Confident campaign on 18 July, engaging employers and giving disabled people more opportunities in business. I am pleased to say that key measures and indicators show reduced inequalities and improvements in key outcomes.
Mr Brown
In recent years, I have on three occasions stepped in when disabled people were on the receiving end of verbal abuse. Recent polling indicates that 17% of disabled people have had such an experience, and that 7% have been physically abused or attacked. What are the Government doing to tackle disability hate crime?