(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
Westminster HallWestminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I decided to come along to speak in this debate after meeting my constituent Bryn, who recently won an award for his campaign to raise awareness of autism and learning disabilities. I have reached out to congratulate him on that success, but I also want to put on record how proud I am to represent a constituency that has within it such incredible people, who are championing the neurodivergent experience in the workplace. Having met Bryn previously, and met him again to learn more about the work he is doing, I know that suitable jobs for people with neurodiversity challenges are particularly hard to access in rural areas. That is particularly because of the difficult-to-access bus routes and other poor public transport links, the poor road surfaces and often the potentially precarious nature of employment. Hearing from Bryn directly about his experiences was incredibly informative and moving, and I thank him for giving up some of his time to meet me and share his experiences. I always try to recognise the contributions of my constituents when I am given the opportunity to speak in the House.
I also want to recognise the valuable work of Team Sunflower, an organisation in my constituency that provides integral support for adults with hidden disabilities. It provides its support and expertise to ensure that, with the right assistance available, employees can thrive in the workplace and reach their full potential. It supports a range of talented people, from photographers to dog walkers, some of whom run their own small businesses, while others remain in full-time employment. Through that valuable support, individuals have access to the help they need to navigate working environments.
The hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Charlotte Cane) has brought forward an incredibly important debate, and I genuinely thank her for securing time for it. I represent the largest constituency in England, and I am always reminded of the fact that, for too long, the employment support regime has been far too focused on what works in urban Britain—for people in central Newcastle, central London and central Manchester—and not nearly enough on what works in rural Northumberland. I would like the Minister to reflect a little on how we can make sure our systems work better for those in more sparsely populated areas, such as the Tyne valley, rural Northumberland, the Allen valleys and Longhorsley.
(1 month ago)
Commons ChamberThe damage was done to the coming generation under the Tories. We failed the pandemic generation, who put a shift in—they stayed at home and gave up their social lives to save older loved ones. I could talk at length about our youth guarantee, our trailblazers and the work we are doing to expand youth hubs, but actually, it sticks in my craw to hear the Conservatives, who failed this generation, harp on about it from that Dispatch Box.
This Labour Government believe that every young person should be able to fulfil their potential. Unlike Conservative Members, we will not stand by while almost 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training. Our Get Britain Working trailblazer in the north-east is already helping young and neurodivergent people with supported work and training placements, including in Hexham. The local jobcentre is also working with Newcastle United Foundation to help young people build their confidence and develop their skills so that they and our country can look forward to a brighter future.
For too long, previous Governments did not take into account the realities of life in communities across my constituency, which is incredibly sparsely populated and quite rural. The youth guarantee can and will make a considerable difference in communities all across it, from the Tyne Valley all the way out to the north Tyne and into Callerton and Throckley, too. Will the Secretary of State work with me to ensure that we continue to support young people in all those different, disparate communities to access the skills and opportunities they deserve?
My hon. Friend is right that people have different needs in different parts of the country. We need to tailor employment support to the needs of individuals, so alongside measures like our youth guarantee, we are overhauling our jobcentres to provide that more personalised support and introducing measures such as mobile jobcentres to provide better help in rural areas.
(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point. This is about transparency and keeping our promises to the British public, and it lays bare the truth about this Government.
The hon. Lady talks about transparency and honesty, but is it not true that the Conservative party concealed the true state of the public finances from the Labour party when we were preparing for Government? Do they not need to reflect on their own spirit of public service and decency?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution, although the Office for Budget Responsibility contradicts what he is saying. The truth about this Government is that they talk a tough talk, but they are the masters of outsourcing every tough decision for others to make. We see that in the tough choices they have forced on small businesses across this country—whether to stop hiring, cut staff, raise prices, or close altogether in order to deal with this black hole that the Chancellor has created through her socialist spending spree—but we saw it first in stark terms in the way that the Government treated pensioners.
The Chancellor chose—yes, chose—to make pensioners make the tough choice between eating and heating. She was not able to be tough with the train driver unions, and she was not able to be tough with the Energy Secretary to stop him wasting £8 billion on GB Energy or £11 billion on overseas climate aid, but she was able to be tough with the pensioners of this country. She is a Chancellor who can be tough with the weak, but melts before the unions and her Cabinet colleagues. This is a Government who have abandoned evidence-based policymaking, such as by attacking parents who send their children to independent schools, engaging in a tax raid despite the clear evidence that it will damage the life chances of young people in both the state and the private sector.