Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Laura Pidcock Excerpts
Tuesday 18th July 2017

(7 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My right hon. Friend is right. We now have the lowest levels of unemployment since 1975, thanks to the economic policies pursued by this Government to improve skills and infrastructure, and to take sensible decisions on public sector pay.

Laura Pidcock Portrait Laura Pidcock (North West Durham) (Lab)
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As has been clearly demonstrated, the Government are celebrating falling unemployment without any critical analysis of the nature of the employment being created. Many residents of North West Durham are in work that exacerbates their financial difficulties because their pay is low, their terms and conditions are poor, and they do not have regular hours. Will the Minister update the House on the number of people who are currently working on zero-hours contracts? Will she also accept that looking at employment figures in a vacuum does nothing to help us to understand whether people are any more secure or any better off?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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Fewer than 3% of people are on zero-hours contracts and, as Matthew Taylor recognised, many people want that flexibility so that they can combine their work with the other things in their lives. We need to ensure that people have the skills to get better jobs in the future, and that is exactly what this Government are investing in.