Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Hughes Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

I am sure that in the hon. Lady’s constituency as well as in Kettering, we are working very hard to bring down the time it takes, particularly in the tribunals. We have been working closely on the area of mental health, and we will continue to work to make sure that everybody gets a fair deal from the process.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

3. What comparative assessment he has made of the number of people in full-time and part-time employment.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

Three in every four people work full-time, and full-time work accounts for all of the significant rise in employment over the last year.

[Simon Hughes]

The Minister has done exactly what I hoped she would do, which is to deal with the fact that whereas the Leader of the Opposition in 2010 said that the Government’s policy would lose a million jobs, my understanding is that since the election there have been more than a million new jobs, and this year more than a quarter of a million new jobs. Will the Minister put it clearly on the record that these new jobs are not all part-time jobs, that there has been a significant growth in full-time employment and that that is predicted to continue?

[Esther McVey]

My right hon. Friend is correct. It is good news that UK business is creating so many new jobs. Since the 2010 election we have seen a rise of nearly 800,000 in the number of full-time jobs and of more than 300,000 in the number of part-time jobs.