Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Danczuk and Iain Duncan Smith

Monday 22nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith)]

I repeat that the universal credit will benefit a large number of people, improving work incentives for some 700,000 people who will see their marginal deduction rates fall from about 96% to 76%. The specific group that the hon. Gentleman is talking about will have their withdrawal rates rise marginally, although that will be met by our guarantee that nobody will be a loser in the course of this.

[Simon Danczuk]

I genuinely welcome the Secretary of State’s attempts to get more people incentivised and back into jobs, but does he accept that his proposals are more likely to fail because the regional development agencies that created many jobs in Rochdale and other parts of the country are to be replaced by what Lord Heseltine has called a “high-risk” regional growth fund?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I do not accept that point. We recognise that it is critical to create those jobs and we expect them to be created as the economy grows. The big problem with creating jobs under the previous Government was that 70% of all the jobs created in 15 years went to people from overseas and not from the UK. The big issue for us is getting people in the UK ready and able to do that work, which the Minister with responsibility for employment, the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), is busy doing through the Work programme.