Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Swales Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that we are introducing sector-based work academies. When people are nearly job ready, and when businesses in the care sector have jobs to provide, we bring young people together and give them work experience and training, and a guarantee of a job interview at the end of that. Forty per cent. of those young people are being given jobs in the care industry.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

7. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the benefit cap.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

12. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the benefit cap.

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

The benefit cap is working. The latest statistics show that 39% of those who are no longer subject to the cap have since moved into work. We will evaluate the policy thoroughly, and expect to publish the findings in the autumn.

[Ian Swales]

The average yearly pay in my constituency is about £21,000 before tax and national insurance. Does the Secretary of State think that a benefit cap of £26,000 gives people outside London an incentive to work?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

The introduction of the benefit cap meant that, for the first time ever, people who were out of work could not end up with more than the average earnings of people who work hard and try to make their way in the world. That was the first stage of the process. Obviously, as with all our policies, we continue to look at it, but I currently have no plans to change the existing levels.