Welfare Reform

John Bercow Excerpts
Thursday 11th November 2010

(13 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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None Portrait Several hon. Members
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rose

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. There is much interest in this statement, but great pressure on parliamentary time, so brevity from Back-Bench and Front-Bench Members alike is essential.

Roger Gale Portrait Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet) (Con)
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The introduction of workfare is about 25 years overdue. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on grasping that nettle and I hope that he will not let go of it. One aspect that he did not touch on was the operation of the jobcentres. Jobcentres are no longer jobcentres, but benefit-processing centres. Will he say just a little about how he intends to address that issue?

--- Later in debate ---
None Portrait Several hon. Members
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rose

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Let me remind colleagues of the need for economy if we are to accommodate as many people as possible.

Eilidh Whiteford Portrait Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
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I applaud the Secretary of State for his announcements today and for his efforts to incentivise work, but I still have an arithmetical problem despite his answers to previous questions. I am struggling to see how 450,000 job vacancies divide into the 5 million people that the reforms aim to help. I am hoping that he can explain.