Oral Answers to Questions

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Ruffley. Not here.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

22. How many people are in receipt of out-of-work benefits; and what assessment he has made of the level of inactivity in (a) Stafford constituency and (b) England.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mr Mark Hoban)]

The proportion of people who are in work or looking for work is the highest for more than two decades, and the number of people who are claiming the main out-of-work benefits has fallen by 230,000 since 2010. In Stafford, about 5,000 people are claiming one of those benefits, which is down on the year and down since 2010.

[Jeremy Lefroy]

Last month, inactivity fell to the lowest rate since 1991 at just 22.3% of the working-age population. What has contributed to that fall?

[Mr Hoban]

There is a range of factors, including the resilience of the private sector in creating jobs and the fact that people are able to work more flexibly and thereby manage health conditions and look after children while working part time. The Government have had a relentless focus on using welfare reform to encourage more people to look for jobs and move into work. The benefit of that is starting to flow through.