Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Greatrex Excerpts

Tuesday 6th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s fiscal policies on the level of long-term youth unemployment.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

15. What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s fiscal policies on the level of long-term youth unemployment.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Sajid Javid)]

The UK labour market is showing some signs of recovery. There are more people in work now than ever before, and youth unemployment is at its lowest since 2011. The Youth Contract was launched in April to support up to 500,000 young people into employment, and the Work programme has been under way since 2011.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sajid Javid]

I know the hon. Lady takes this issue very seriously, which is why I believe she took her right hon. Friend the shadow Chancellor to Queen Mary university recently to discuss it with young people. I hope that they told young people that under the previous Government youth unemployment was created as a problem—up 72% in 10 years. I hope she also told them that youth unemployment has fallen by 62,000 in the last quarter because of the Youth Contract, the Work programme, investment in apprenticeships and other Government policies.

[Tom Greatrex]

Long-term youth unemployment in my constituency in the past two years has increased by 188%. Rather than flinging back his low-grade abuse, could the Minister explain to the House his objection, as we approach bank bonus season, to implementing a bank bonus tax to help fund jobs for those young people?

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Gentleman will know that the Government have introduced a permanent tax on bank balance sheets, which will raise far more than a bank bonus tax. If he is interested in the fiscal action the Government are taking to create jobs, maybe he can tell his constituents about the brownfield allowance the Government introduced for North sea oilfields a couple of months ago. A few weeks later there was investment of £1.6 billion, creating up to 2,000 jobs in Scotland and beyond.