Oral Answers to Questions

Harriet Cross Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

The Conservatives’ zeal for change is very touching; it is just a pity that they only discovered it the day they stopped having any responsibility for running the welfare system. Let me remind the hon. Lady that this is the system that they created, and these are the gateways to benefits that they created. The reform that they put forward was struck down by the courts, and the incentives in the system that she attacks are the ones that they legislated for. Now we have begun to change the system, with the first change in universal credit incentives for years, more support for the long-term sick and disabled, and a youth guarantee that offers hope where previously there was only neglect.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

2. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of unemployment.

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

22. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of unemployment.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Dame Diana Johnson)]

I am sure that the hon. Lady will be pleased to know that more than 329,000 more people are in work this year. The economically active working-age population has reached a record high of 34.3 million. However, the unemployment level has increased by 282,000 over the year. These figures show why we must continue supporting people into work with our Get Britain Working plan, which includes creating a new jobs and careers service, tackling economic inactivity due to ill health and delivering our youth guarantee.

[Harriet Cross]

As I am sure the Minister and the rest of the Front-Bench team know, we are seeing huge redundancies and mass unemployment within the oil and gas sector increasing every week. When did any of the Front-Bench DWP team last meet the oil and gas sector to discuss that?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

The hon. Lady might not know this, but I joined the team in September, so I will have to find out. I am happy to write to her about when the last meeting in that area took place.