Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Harper]

As the hon. Lady will see if she looks at the latest figures, the programme’s performance has improved considerably—indeed, it has been more successful than previous programmes—and Work Choice is also performing very well. I think that she should have a little more confidence. The document that I published today refers to a range of programmes initiated by Departments whose spending we have protected, at a time when difficult decisions are having to be made across Government to deal with the deficit.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

15. What estimate he has made of the annual change in unemployment in the North West Norfolk constituency over the last three years.

[The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey)]

Over the past three years, the claimant count in my hon. Friend’s constituency has halved, from nearly 1,900 to just over 900.

[Mr Bellingham]

As my right hon. Friend will know, unemployment has fallen by nearly 1,000 in my constituency since May 2010, and by 770 in the last year. Does she agree that we should look behind the headline statistics, and observe that a great many families now have a breadwinner and are hopeful and confident about the future?

[Esther McVey]

My hon. Friend has made a very good point. Frequently, when I am out and about I find that we talk only about statistics and numbers and facts and figures, without making it clear that there are individuals who have found jobs, who are on the career ladder and who are making progress, sometimes while looking after a family or loved one. That is the real story behind the statistics: it is about individuals, their families and their local communities.