She defended the tougher “sanctions” now given to out-of-work people who fail to meet job-hunting requirements
Newly-appointed employment
minister Esther McVey compared the work of Jobcentres with teachers who give
pupils detention but have their best interests at heart.
Yesterday she defended the tougher “sanctions” now given to out-of-work people who fail to meet job-hunting requirements.
The Wirral West MP, widely considered one of the fastest-rising stars in the Tory party, was grilled by the work and pensions committee.
She gave a defence of the sanctions system under which people who fail to attend a meeting with an adviser can lose their Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for a month, and repeat offenders risk losing benefits for up to three years.
Ms McVey said: “What’s a teacher do in a school? A teacher would tell you off or give you lines or whatever it is, detentions, but at the same time they are wanting your best interests at heart.
“They are teaching you, they are educating you but at the same time they will also have the ability to sanction you.”
Figures published earlier this month showed payments had been suspended 580,000 times since October last year, affecting approximately 5% of people claiming JSA.
Oldham East and Saddleworth Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, formerly an expert in international health at the University of Liverpool, called for an independent review into sanctions.
She said: “These are people who have no money to live. You know, they are really, really struggling... How are people meant to live?”
Ms McVey said that Matthew Oakley, a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, was already conducting a review of the sanctions process, although Labour committee chairwoman Anne Begg said there was “nothing in his remit to look at the appropriateness of sanctions”.
The Wirral West MP defended the strategic use of the penalties, saying: “It’s not first thing that anybody does. It really is understanding somebody’s life and getting that right.”
Ms Begg also challenged the minister on a lack of information about what happens to people who leave the benefits system.
She said: “It seems incredible that you don’t ask the people who’ve come off benefit ‘Why?’.
“Because you can’t make the assumption they have come off benefits and gone into work; you certainly can’t make the assumption they’ve come off benefits and gone into sustained work.”
Neil Couling, the head of the Jobcentre programme, sitting beside Ms McVey, said 14,000 people stopped taking the benefits each day.
The minister said that routine employment figures provided information on changes in the labour market.
Ms McVey said that people using Jobcentres should “view it as you’re in your job to get a job”.
She said: “[We] want to support you... It should be a very positive relationship.”
Liverpool Daily Post
Yesterday she defended the tougher “sanctions” now given to out-of-work people who fail to meet job-hunting requirements.
The Wirral West MP, widely considered one of the fastest-rising stars in the Tory party, was grilled by the work and pensions committee.
She gave a defence of the sanctions system under which people who fail to attend a meeting with an adviser can lose their Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for a month, and repeat offenders risk losing benefits for up to three years.
Ms McVey said: “What’s a teacher do in a school? A teacher would tell you off or give you lines or whatever it is, detentions, but at the same time they are wanting your best interests at heart.
“They are teaching you, they are educating you but at the same time they will also have the ability to sanction you.”
Figures published earlier this month showed payments had been suspended 580,000 times since October last year, affecting approximately 5% of people claiming JSA.
Oldham East and Saddleworth Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, formerly an expert in international health at the University of Liverpool, called for an independent review into sanctions.
She said: “These are people who have no money to live. You know, they are really, really struggling... How are people meant to live?”
Ms McVey said that Matthew Oakley, a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, was already conducting a review of the sanctions process, although Labour committee chairwoman Anne Begg said there was “nothing in his remit to look at the appropriateness of sanctions”.
The Wirral West MP defended the strategic use of the penalties, saying: “It’s not first thing that anybody does. It really is understanding somebody’s life and getting that right.”
Ms Begg also challenged the minister on a lack of information about what happens to people who leave the benefits system.
She said: “It seems incredible that you don’t ask the people who’ve come off benefit ‘Why?’.
“Because you can’t make the assumption they have come off benefits and gone into work; you certainly can’t make the assumption they’ve come off benefits and gone into sustained work.”
Neil Couling, the head of the Jobcentre programme, sitting beside Ms McVey, said 14,000 people stopped taking the benefits each day.
The minister said that routine employment figures provided information on changes in the labour market.
Ms McVey said that people using Jobcentres should “view it as you’re in your job to get a job”.
She said: “[We] want to support you... It should be a very positive relationship.”
Liverpool Daily Post
