Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Fell Excerpts

Monday 5th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Western (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

9. What estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of economic inactivity due to ill health.

[Simon Fell (Barrow and Furness) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to reduce labour inactivity.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

21. What steps his Department is taking to reduce labour inactivity.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mel Stride]

On NHS waiting lists, there has been progress, in that the two-year waiting lists have almost been entirely dispensed with and those of 18 months have been very substantially reduced. Our Department recognises that work is part of the solution to improving people’s health, which is why we are putting forward the WorkWell service, bringing together medical input and work coach input; fit note reform to help at an earlier stage of the journey; and the reforms to the work coach assessment. All those things are moving towards getting more people into work, which is good for their health.

[Simon Fell]

In Barrow and Furness, an estimated 4,000 people who could be contributing to the labour market are not doing so. I am incredibly grateful to my right hon. Friend and his team, in the Barrow jobcentre and centrally, who, alongside Team Barrow, have worked with local employers and skills providers to help get those people back into our incredibly tight labour market. Will he pass my thanks on to those teams? May I also encourage him to visit to see their good work?

[Mel Stride]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting all the good work that has gone on in his constituency. I believe he opened a jobcentre only as recently as 30 January in his constituency. He is a doughty campaigner for and supporter of employment in his patch. He asks whether I will visit his constituency. I would certainly like to consider that, but my hon. Friend the Employment Minister might also visit, because she just said she was particularly keen to do so.