To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of paying a work-related activity premium of (a) £10, (b) £20 and (c) £30 per week to lone parents with children aged under 7 years in 2009-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of paying a work-related activity premium of (a) £10, (b) £20 and (c) £30 per week to lone parents with children aged under 7 years in 2009-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of transferring all lone parents whose children are under seven years from income support to employment and support allowance would be in 2009-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of transferring all lone parents whose children are under seven years from income support to employment and support allowance would be in 2009-10.

The challenge of any scheme and any evaluation is to have a control model. I do not know whether that model should involve those who do not participate at all or those who volunteer. One thing to the DWP's credit is that it is extremely good at commissioning research. In...

The challenge of any scheme and any evaluation is to have a control model. I do not know whether that model should involve those who do not participate at all or those who volunteer. One thing to the DWP's credit is that it is extremely good at commissioning research. In...

This is a difficult argument. Giving people the same intensive support at the start of a claim that they get further down the track would probably treble the cost of Jobcentre Plus. I forget the exact figures, but about two thirds of claimants get a job within the first three...

This is a difficult argument. Giving people the same intensive support at the start of a claim that they get further down the track would probably treble the cost of Jobcentre Plus. I forget the exact figures, but about two thirds of claimants get a job within the first three...

I take the hon. Gentleman's point, but I want to say a couple of things about former employees of Woolworths. Of the 30,000 people made redundant by the company, fewer than 6,000 have made a claim for benefit. The numbers still on benefit are dropping day by day, so it...

I take the hon. Gentleman's point, but I want to say a couple of things about former employees of Woolworths. Of the 30,000 people made redundant by the company, fewer than 6,000 have made a claim for benefit. The numbers still on benefit are dropping day by day, so it...

Go on then.

Go on then.

That argument suggests that if a person stays on benefit for 25 years, they will still be subject to no compulsion. That is nonsense. There must come a point when, for the benefit of the individual—never mind the benefit of the taxpayer—we do something different for them. The Bill is...

That argument suggests that if a person stays on benefit for 25 years, they will still be subject to no compulsion. That is nonsense. There must come a point when, for the benefit of the individual—never mind the benefit of the taxpayer—we do something different for them. The Bill is...

That is a convenient excuse. About 1,800 former Woolworths employees retired, having reached or even worked past retirement age. It is true that some former Woolworths workers were not entitled to benefit, but that will always be the case. It is nothing new: in the 1970s and 1980s, lots of...

That is a convenient excuse. About 1,800 former Woolworths employees retired, having reached or even worked past retirement age. It is true that some former Woolworths workers were not entitled to benefit, but that will always be the case. It is nothing new: in the 1970s and 1980s, lots of...

I think that I have been on that subject long enough. I want to move on. Some of the amendments that I have tabled call for pilot schemes to be conducted, and I hope that the Government accept the need for that. They also propose that the work for benefits...

I think that I have been on that subject long enough. I want to move on. Some of the amendments that I have tabled call for pilot schemes to be conducted, and I hope that the Government accept the need for that. They also propose that the work for benefits...

There are different definitions of voluntary. The schemes are largely voluntary, but I think that there are hidden pressures behind them. However—this is where I have to take exception with my hon. Friend—such schemes work. When something works, why not—

There are different definitions of voluntary. The schemes are largely voluntary, but I think that there are hidden pressures behind them. However—this is where I have to take exception with my hon. Friend—such schemes work. When something works, why not—

I wish to speak to amendments 42 to 47. Amendments 42 to 45 deal with clause 1, which covers "work for your benefit" schemes, or as it has been called today, Workfare. There has been much quoting—perhaps I should say misquoting—of various research and of what the Select Committee said...

I wish to speak to amendments 42 to 47. Amendments 42 to 45 deal with clause 1, which covers "work for your benefit" schemes, or as it has been called today, Workfare. There has been much quoting—perhaps I should say misquoting—of various research and of what the Select Committee said...

Last month, 200,000 people left benefits for work. People seem to think that the whole economy has frozen up and that nobody is getting jobs. There is still a massive flow either way. More people are losing jobs than are getting jobs, but a huge amount of people are still...

Last month, 200,000 people left benefits for work. People seem to think that the whole economy has frozen up and that nobody is getting jobs. There is still a massive flow either way. More people are losing jobs than are getting jobs, but a huge amount of people are still...

It has been far more successful than any other programme. It still gets a low level of people into work, but that is more to do with the prejudice of employers than the programme on offer. If our dear friends in Victoria street, in what used to be called the...

It has been far more successful than any other programme. It still gets a low level of people into work, but that is more to do with the prejudice of employers than the programme on offer. If our dear friends in Victoria street, in what used to be called the...

No, my hon. Friend will have to wait. He spoke for 40 minutes; will he let me have a go for five minutes? When something works, why not extend the opportunity to take part in it to others? There is an issue about compulsion, but let us deal with the...

No, my hon. Friend will have to wait. He spoke for 40 minutes; will he let me have a go for five minutes? When something works, why not extend the opportunity to take part in it to others? There is an issue about compulsion, but let us deal with the...

How about Sweden, Norway and Denmark?

How about Sweden, Norway and Denmark?

There is evidence.

There is evidence.

I am sympathetic to what my hon. Friend says, although I suspect that it would be difficult to find one person with enough knowledge of these matters to be an expert. What we need is much better signposting for people, and a much better exposition of their rights and means...

I am sympathetic to what my hon. Friend says, although I suspect that it would be difficult to find one person with enough knowledge of these matters to be an expert. What we need is much better signposting for people, and a much better exposition of their rights and means...

I did not think that any Labour Member would want to go back, but I thought someone on the Opposition Benches might. We are not going back to those days. I come now to the problem of job retention, which one or two hon. Members have mentioned already. Part of...

I did not think that any Labour Member would want to go back, but I thought someone on the Opposition Benches might. We are not going back to those days. I come now to the problem of job retention, which one or two hon. Members have mentioned already. Part of...

I am sorry, but the figures speak for themselves. There are job opportunities in the retail sector almost all the time, but my argument is that it does not give people careers. Employers want people who are fodder to take money on the tills, but they do not train them...

I am sorry, but the figures speak for themselves. There are job opportunities in the retail sector almost all the time, but my argument is that it does not give people careers. Employers want people who are fodder to take money on the tills, but they do not train them...

The retail trade in general has a 25 per cent. turnover in staff. In the big four supermarkets, the rate is nearer 40 per cent. The job churn in the retail trade is phenomenal.

The retail trade in general has a 25 per cent. turnover in staff. In the big four supermarkets, the rate is nearer 40 per cent. The job churn in the retail trade is phenomenal.