§ 22. Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the imposition of a requirement to be available for work on Sundays in order to qualify for jobseeker's allowance. [8618]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthPeople receiving jobseeker's allowance do not have to be available for work on a Sunday, providing that they can agree a pattern of availability for work with their Employment Service adviser which means they are available for the number of hours required, usually for 40 hours a week, and gives them reasonable prospects of securing employment. If, for example, a clergyman were to propose that his pattern of work should be such that he would not need to be available for work on a Sunday, we should look askance at that.
§ Mr. BreedWill the Minister make his view crystal clear to all officers dealing with jobseeker's allowance, because there is a growing feeling that people who have to turn down jobs on moral grounds because they potentially involve work on Sundays are being denied their jobseeker's allowance?
§ Mr. HowarthIt is made clear in the jobseeker's regulations that genuinely held religious or conscientious reasons for declining an offer will be accepted as a good cause. However, I take the hon. Gentleman's point. It is important that all Employment Service staff react with sensitivity to the genuine conscientious concerns of unemployed people.
§ Rev. Martin SmythI can assure the Minister that to lead the people of God in worship on a Sunday is not work—work is the rest of the week. We have had assurances that people would not be penalised if they were concerned about Sunday work. Can I plead that there be no restrictions at any level? If there are restrictions, we shall be moving towards not only the millennium but the mark of the beast.
§ Mr. HowarthIt certainly would not be work to listen to either a speech or a sermon from the hon. Gentleman. I can give him the assurance that he seeks.
§ Madam SpeakerNo. I am sorry, but points of order are always taken after statements.