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Jobcentre Plus

7. Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend, East) (Con): What assessment he has made of the likely changes in demand for jobcentre services over the next two years. [190397]

The Minister for Work (Jane Kennedy): The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the new Jobcentre Plus services have been rolled out already in Southend, and my assessment of future use is quite simple: we will offer our services outside jobcentres, such as in local community surgeries and at shared sites with local authorities. We will use new technology, such as job points, call centres and the internet. Those innovative approaches will enable people to gain access to many of our services without having to call at a Jobcentre Plus office.

Sir Teddy Taylor: Have the Government assessed whether the unemployment figures are likely to increase or decrease over the next two years, and in particular, is the Minister aware of the growing concern about the unreliability of official statistics, observing for example that we now have a missing million young people who are not at work, in education, in training or on benefits, and who therefore do not appear in the figures?

Jane Kennedy: I know that the hon. Gentleman takes a close interest in these issues, and he will be aware of the success of the Government's policies and the new deal in reducing unemployment to the lowest level of any European country and in increasing the employment rate to a level of which we can all be proud. We are refocusing services through Jobcentre Plus precisely to help the people who face the greater barriers to getting back to work. He is right that we must bear in mind all the time our efforts to help everybody to share in the wealth from which we all benefit, through the growth in the economy achieved by this Government.

Mr. Martin Salter (Reading, West) (Lab): Has my right hon. Friend had an opportunity to consider the representations made by my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) and me about the appalling delays in the processing of benefit claims and claims for jobseeker's allowance in Berkshire? Given that her officials are blaming staff shortages for the problems, what plans does she have to improve jobcentre services over the next two years?

Jane Kennedy: I am sorry to hear about those concerns, and I will be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend and his colleagues if they want to come and talk to me about the problems to which he referred.

Mr. Jonathan Sayeed (Mid-Bedfordshire) (Con): Can the Minister answer the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend, East (Sir Teddy Taylor)? What has happened to the million people who seem to be missing from the official statistics?

Jane Kennedy: The figures to which the hon. Gentleman refers are fictitious. The fact is that we now have in Great Britain the lowest level of unemployment
 
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in recent history and the highest level of employment of any country in the western world. I do not recognise the figures to which he refers and I dismiss the criticism that he raises.

Rosemary McKenna (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): The Minister will be aware that there are serious concerns about the roll-out of Jobcentre Plus in Lanarkshire. We greatly value in Cumbernauld the 1,000-plus jobs in the Inland Revenue—they are really important to us—but there are serious concerns about the proposal to close both the Kilsyth and the Cumbernauld benefit offices, with the loss of some 70 jobs. Will she guarantee that the trade unions and the work force will be involved in deciding the way forward, that there will be an improved service to my constituents, and that there will be a serious look at how those who cannot transfer to alternative civil service jobs will be compensated?

Jane Kennedy: I am aware of the concerns of my hon. Friend and her Lanarkshire colleagues. If they want to raise particular concerns, I will be happy to meet them. She will have heard my right hon. Friend saying that district managers stand ready to discuss the arrangements with local Members of Parliament, and of course I assure her that the trade unions are consulted throughout the process.

Hugh Robertson (Faversham and Mid-Kent) (Con): Sadly, my constituents are about to lose their jobcentre in Faversham. In my discussions with the Minister's officials, two problems in particular have come to light. First, there has been a sharp rise in the number of people claiming disability allowance, who very much regard the jobcentre as their spiritual home. Secondly, although the number claiming jobseeker's allowance is relatively small, those are precisely the people who find it difficult to access all the new facilities that she mentioned. Can she do anything to ensure that those factors are considered again before the jobcentre is closed?

Jane Kennedy: I will look at the specific circumstances that the hon. Gentleman raises regarding his constituency. The reform of the Employment Service and the Benefits Agency was clearly an effort to bring about focused help centred on delivering as much support as possible for those people who face the greatest difficulty getting back to work after periods of unemployment. I shall examine the difficulties that he raised regarding his constituency.

Youth Unemployment (Ipswich)

8. Mr. Chris Mole (Ipswich) (Lab): If he will make a statement on the level of long-term youth unemployment in Ipswich. [190398]

The Minister for Work (Jane Kennedy): There are currently 120 young people in Ipswich between the ages of 18 and 24 who have been unemployed for more than six months, which is a reduction of 63 per cent. since 1997 and of more than 29 per cent. over just the last year.

Mr. Mole: Does the Minister agree that that downward trend would be unlikely to continue if the new deal were abolished?
 
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Jane Kennedy: My hon. Friend makes a good point. Scrapping the new deal would have a catastrophic effect on the stability of the labour market, and we know that it has had unprecedented success in bringing about the greater flexibility that has helped to fuel the economic growth on which our success is founded. Independent evaluation has found that youth unemployment would have been almost twice as high without the new deal for young people, and it has increased our gross domestic product by £500 million a year.

Mr. Ivan Henderson (Harwich) (Lab): May I congratulate Fox's Marina Ipswich Ltd. in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Mr. Mole) on joining in with an initiative that took place last Saturday in and around my constituency, alongside the Prince's Trust, called "Get Into the Marine Industry"? Stena Line, DFDS Seaways, the Harwich Haven Authority, Trinity House and, of course, Fox's Marina joined in the project. While youth unemployment in my constituency has fallen by 50 per cent., there is still a long way to go. Does the Minister agree that such initiatives and the new deal need to be encouraged, and that now is not the time to scrap them?

Jane Kennedy: I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Whether judged by their record or plans, the Conservatives are the party of mass unemployment. They believed that unemployment was a price worth paying, but I assure him that a Labour Government—

Mr. Speaker: Order.

Small Businesses (Health and Safety)

9. Kevin Brennan (Cardiff, West) (Lab): What steps he is taking to encourage the provision of health and safety advice in small and medium-sized firms. [190399]

The Minister for Work (Jane Kennedy): It is 30 years since the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 came into force and the Health and Safety Executive was created. Since then, workplace fatalities in Britain have fallen by 70 per cent. and we now have one of the best records on workplace health and safety in the world. The Health and Safety Executive offers advice and support to all types of businesses. In particular, we have developed an occupational health, safety and rehabilitation model that supports small businesses, which we will be piloting shortly in the construction industry.

Kevin Brennan: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does she agree that one of the best ways to improve the record on health and safety in small and medium-sized enterprises is by encouraging the membership and recognition of trade unions? She mentioned the construction industry, which still has a record of which we cannot be proud, so will she praise the efforts of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians, the construction workers' union, and tell the House something about what she will do to try to encourage trade union involvement in promoting health and safety at work?
 
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Jane Kennedy: I associate myself with my hon. Friend's words about the importance of trade union representation in the workplace. We share the concerns of the Health and Safety Commission that too few workers are consulted on, or involved in, health and safety. The aim of the worker safety adviser scheme is that projects that we will develop and pilot shortly will facilitate worker involvement in health and safety, even in workplaces in which there is no formal trade union organisation. We will bring the pilot forward shortly and have committed £3 million over a three-year period to fund the project. I am delighted to be able to look forward to launching the pilot.

Alistair Burt (North-East Bedfordshire) (Con): I know that the Minister is aware of widespread concern among businesses in the outdoor activity and leisure sector about the possible health and safety impact of the new "work at heights" directive. More than 40 respected organisations from throughout the sector have come together to suggest an alternative regulatory approach to the one currently proposed by the Health and Safety Commission. Will she assure me that she will support such an approach, which would ensure that professionals whose lives depend on their safety judgments would continue to have the final say on safety in their businesses, thus avoiding the threats to businesses in the industry and the nonsense inherent in the directive?

Jane Kennedy: I am very impressed by the safety record of the industry, which the hon. Gentleman rightly brings to the attention of the House. He will know that we had a useful meeting just before the summer at which we discussed the issues in depth. The Health and Safety Executive continues to consider the issues that he, other colleagues in the House, and representatives of the industry raised. We have not yet resolved everything that was raised, but we are working hard to do so, conscious of the need to do that before the directive takes effect.

Tony Lloyd (Manchester, Central) (Lab): Rather than allowing employers to have the last word on what is good and bad in health and safety, will my right hon. Friend accept that there are many very bad employers and that we need the Health and Safety Executive not only to issue advice to the good employers, but to increase prosecutions of the rogues, to ensure that the strong lesson goes out that breaching the health and safety of employees and the public will be met by penal sanctions?

Jane Kennedy: My hon. Friend is right. Enforcement is, and will continue to be, a very important role of the HSE. However, he will know that small businesses account for more than 90 per cent. of companies. As they are not a single group, the HSE is using a wide variety of routes to target different audiences. That is the right approach. Enforcement is important, but encouragement and persuasion are also important tools. The development of worker safety advisers will allow the HSE to bring together employers and employees in the partnership that is required if we are to continue to have a good record on health and safety in our workplaces.
 
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