Oral Answers to Questions
Michelle Scrogham Excerpts(2 days, 6 hours ago)
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Liz Kendall
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.
Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness) (Lab)
Alison McGovern
Given the significant investment, the DWP has partnered with BAE and the nuclear sector to promote a variety of career pathways, including roles across its supply chains. We are also working within BAE’s new “The Bridge” hub in Barrow—a collaborative space offering employment advice and support from BAE Systems and a range of local employers and organisations to connect talent with locally based jobs. Further, in Barrow, our youth hub is run in partnership with Brathay Trust and Project John, supporting young people holistically to meet employers and develop their talents.
Michelle Scrogham
I have been impressed by the work being done in Drop Zone in my constituency. It runs a variety of projects for young people, including specialised education for those with additional needs, mental health support, and support for the transition back into education, employment and training. But young people in Barrow and Furness still face difficult challenges from a long legacy of underfunding. The youth trailblazer scheme is already making a difference in some constituencies after just a few months. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can tailor the scheme to specifically target young people in Barrow and Furness?
Alison McGovern
Barrow has unique circumstances, challenges and opportunities, and it is important that all parts of the Government address those unique opportunities and challenges in Barrow. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to further discuss what we are already doing and what more we can go on to do to ensure that young people in Barrow have the best possible chance in life.
Women’s Changed State Pension Age: Compensation
Michelle Scrogham Excerpts(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for opening the debate.
I first want to acknowledge the tireless campaigning of the Barrow and Furness WASPI women. They have worked tenaciously to advocate for fairness and justice for all those affected. WASPI women did not ask for this change, and they had no say in how it was implemented, but they are the ones left to cope with the consequences: the financial strain, the anxiety and the uncertainty.
The issue is not about opposing pension reform. No one denies that we need a sustainable and fair pension system, but we must recognise that the way these changes were carried out was deeply unfair to those who had no ability to prepare. It is also important to recognise the context in which the Government find themselves. This mess was not created by this Government but, as in all too many cases right now, they have been left with the difficult task of clearing it up.
There is no easy solution, but the findings of the ombudsman’s report provided a critical assessment of the way the previous Government handled the pension age changes. The report confirmed what many of us had long suspected: that the communication of these changes was inadequate and misleading. Those findings underline the need for a fair and swift resolution to ensure that the WASPI women are not left to bear the consequences of these failures alone.
I commend the excellent work of the all-party parliamentary group on state pension inequality for women, and encourage Members across all parties to continue to work with it. It remains a vital forum for dialogue and understanding.
There is still time to deliver a fair and equitable compensation package for these women. This is the time to right this wrong. The way forward is continued collaboration, where Ministers keep the door open to those who have legitimate concerns and wish to find a fair resolution. Ongoing dialogue is essential to ensuring that the affected women are heard and that a fair and just solution is found. There are many WASPI women in my constituency. I pledged to back those women, and I will stand by that pledge until justice is served.