Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Double Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Newton]

My hon. Friend makes a good point about how closely we work with disabled people and stakeholders. He makes particular reference to the severe conditions work that we have implemented for ESA claimants, where we have worked with stakeholders to design a new process, so that the most poorly and vulnerable people have a personal, tailor-made process.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

4. What progress she is making on developing family indicators to measure the Government’s progress in tackling child poverty.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members should not chortle; the Minister is a courteous fellow and should be respected.

[Steve Double]

Given the huge costs financially and socially of family breakdown to people both in and out of work, what is the Minister doing to improve the family indices across society and to reduce family instability?

[Kit Malthouse]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his constant and vigorous campaigning on the issue, and particularly on the importance he attaches to fatherhood and family stability. The Government agree with him about that, and a number of programmes are designed to move the dial on the nine indicators that we have published. For example, alongside the fight against worklessness and the troubled families programme, we are specifically investing £39 million in a programme to reduce parental conflict and increase family stability.