Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Baroness Morgan of Cotes

Monday 22nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

The previous Government had problems with IT development, as did lots of Governments—both sides accept that. To be fair, I have spoken to the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms), who has been very positive about general developments. In his time, the development of the employment and support allowance computer was a very positive development, for which I compliment him. That is a very good example of the scale of computer development that we can undertake with the universal credit.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith)]

We are busy working very hard on employment programmes. I draw my hon. Friend’s attention to the very positive employment figures from last week, which indicate that the Government’s direction of travel places employment growth at the heart of all we do.

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the Secretary of State for his answer and I note the earlier comment by the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Steve Webb), that economic growth should not be talked down and that jobs are being created. How are the providers of the Work programme going to work with employers to identify those jobs and make sure that people are placed in private sector jobs as we go forward?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The difference between this Government and the previous Government will be that the Work programme—the most comprehensive, integrated work programme in existence, certainly, since the war—will make a huge effort to get those who have been out of work for the longest periods ready for work so that they actually get to work. As the economy grows, those jobs will be greater in number. A key point that I made earlier is vital to her question: for all the growth under the previous Government, prior to the mistakes they made that brought us the recession, most of those jobs went to people from overseas because British people simply were not capable of doing that work. That has to change.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Baroness Morgan of Cotes

Monday 18th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

We have no such strategy, but of course, if those people want a job change, that is up to them.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

I welcome the earlier remarks of the Under-Secretary on achieving equality for disabled people by helping them back into work. Does she recognise the excellent work done by the RNIB college in my constituency to help those who are blind or visually impaired back into work? Will she visit the college with me at some point?