Charter for Budget Responsibility

Stephen Doughty Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Ed Balls]

It started in 1986 under a Conservative Prime Minister and social security Secretary, it was called “restart” and it actively moved people from JSA— unemployment benefit—on to long-term sickness and invalidity benefits. It meant that very many people then spent many years out of work. It was a shameful policy.

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

rose—

[Ed Balls]

The hon. Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) has given up, so I will give way to my hon. Friend.

[Stephen Doughty]

I am glad that my right hon. Friend has mentioned the compulsory jobs guarantee, because is it not an absolute contrast with the manifest failures of the Work programme? Does he agree that the Government ought to be learning from, rather than smearing, the Welsh Labour Government and the success of the jobs growth Wales programme?

[Ed Balls]

All the evidence shows that action to get young people back to work, especially the long-term unemployed, pays real dividends. It is what we mean by tackling the root causes, and it is the right way to implement a tough welfare cap. That is the approach we will take.