Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jo Swinson]

The short answer is yes, and the national professional qualification for headship contains information on how to tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

2. What estimate she has made of the number of women who have been unemployed for over one year.

[Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

6. What estimate she has made of the number of women who have been unemployed for over one year.

[The Minister for Disabled People (Mr Mark Harper)]

Female long-term unemployment has fallen by more than 90,000 on the year—the largest annual fall on record––to 237,000, demonstrating the success of the Government’s long-term economic plan.

[Graeme Morrice]

Under this Government there are more young women who have been out of work for over a year than there were four years ago. Does the Minister agree that that is a terrible indictment of the Government’s so-called long-term economic plan?

[Mr Harper]

I am pleased the hon. Gentleman recognises that we have a long-term economic plan that is also successful—two things that the Labour party does not have. The previous Government removed people who were about to become long-term unemployed from the claimant count by putting them on training programmes. We have stopped that charade and now have an honest measure. We have a record number of women in work, a record female employment rate, a record number of older women in work, a record older female employment rate, and a female participation rate that is close to the highest on record—a record of which I am very proud.