Oral Answers to Questions

James Sunderland Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

4. What steps she is taking to support people with disabilities into employment.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

11. What steps she is taking to support people with disabilities into employment.

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Justin Tomlinson)]

The Government are committed to seeing 1 million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027. We support disabled people to return to work through our work coaches and disability employment advisers. This is achieved through programmes such as the Work and Health programme, Access to Work and the new intensive personalised employment support programme.

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[Justin Tomlinson]

I am pleased to report that as of last month we are at 17,353. We use Disability Confident to empower employers of all sizes to share best practice. Only last week, I met all the Health and Work programme providers to look at how they can work with those businesses that have signed up for Disability Confident to offer more opportunities for disabled people.

[James Sunderland]

I thank the Minister for his response. What is being done to support ex-forces personnel, who may have physical or mental disabilities, into employment, perhaps even through the auspices of bringing the armed forces covenant into statute?

[Justin Tomlinson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince), who is the Minister for Welfare Delivery, has been doing a huge amount of work in leading on that issue. We are making sure that we offer resettlement support; support from our armed forces champions, for which posts there is a £6 million package of support; and early access to the Work and Health programme. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is committed to putting the armed forces covenant on a statutory footing and it will have our full support.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Sunderland Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Fysh (Yeovil) (Con)]

7. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

9. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.

[Nicola Richards (West Bromwich East) (Con)]

17. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce homelessness and (b) end rough sleeping by the end of the 2019 Parliament.

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[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend will be aware of the money given to councils—including £359,000 for his own council—to help them to support homeless people. Issues such as this can often be addressed not only by discretionary housing payments but by the flexible support fund which provides hardship payments through local jobcentres.

[James Sunderland]

I am grateful for the Secretary of State’s earlier response, but will she please tell us what is being done to help ex-forces personnel into work?

[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend—indeed, my hon. and gallant Friend—raises an important point. Last year we secured about £5 million in the spending review to bolster the role of our local armed forces champions, which means that in the forthcoming year we shall be able almost to triple the resources to support full-time champion posts so that we can try to ensure that veterans are given work that is fruitful and long-term.