Welfare Reform

Tony Baldry Excerpts

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I made no such assertion. What I was demonstrating was that if you put a check in place and ask people to demonstrate their situation, those who are bent on a different purpose will naturally fall out. I used the last Government’s work capability assessment programme to illustrate how that affects new entrants. I was by no means casting aspersions on anybody who is going through the programme, because they deserve what they get.

[Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

Many of those who are out of work will need to update existing skills or acquire new skills to help them get back into the world of work. What is my right hon. Friend’s Department doing to try to ensure that people who are out of work can access skills through the further education sector and other means?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

This comes back to the Work programme, because it will be about drawing in mentors from the private sector to advise people on setting up businesses and to give other support and advice. The mentoring programme will allow us not only to get people into work, but to mentor them until they get the work habit. That is the critical point. Once they get the work habit, they will be capable of looking after themselves.