§ 27. Mr. SoleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the connection between his economic policy and welfare to work. [85276]
§ John HealeyMacroeconomic stability is a prerequisite for delivering the Government's aim of employment opportunity for all. The Government's macroeconomic policy, based on low inflation and sound public finances, has successfully maintained stability and growth.
Against this background of stability, the Government have also introduced microeconomic reforms to improve the functioning of the labour market and ensure that employment opportunity is extended to all individuals in all parts of Britain. These include Welfare to Work policies that help the unemployed achieve a successful return to work, and extend help and support to areas and groups suffering from the greatest employment disadvantage.
This strategy has helped to deliver a dynamic and flexible labour market, with employment at record highs and both International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment and claimant unemployment close to their lowest levels since the 1970s. Since 1997, claimant unemployment in Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush has fallen from 7 per cent. to 3.9 per cent.