Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Bool Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

1. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of future welfare spending on the economy.

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

21. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of future welfare spending on the economy.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)]

We inherited from the Conservative party a welfare system that forced too many people out of work and on to long-term benefits, while leaving millions of children in poverty. We have begun to address that through reforms to universal credit, increased employment support, more help for children in poverty and, now, a youth guarantee to offer work and training to young people who are unemployed.

[Sarah Bool]

The oldest law in economics is that if we tax something more, we get less of it. The inverse is also true: if we subsidise something more, we get more of it. Why do this Government believe that subsidising unemployment through huge increases to the welfare bill will not lead to more unemployment? Will the Secretary of State accept that those changes disincentivise work, and will he tell the House how much the Budget is expected to increase unemployment?

[Pat McFadden]

The Conservative party watched the number of those who are not in education, employment or training grow year by year and did nothing about it. The hon. Lady will find that, at the Budget a couple of weeks ago, the Office for Budget Responsibility projected that the levels of people in employment will rise in every year of the forecast.