§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to remove barriers to people taking up work in the UK. [124210]
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§ John HealeyThe Government have implemented a comprehensive strategy to advance its long-term goal of employment opportunity for all, including tackling the range of barriers that can stand in the way of people taking up work.
Delivered through Jobcentre Plus, the jobseeker's allowance regime provides individuals who are out of work and actively seeking employment with the advice and support they need to find jobs. For those who remain unemployed for longer, the Government's Welfare to Work strategy seeks to equip people with the skills and opportunities they need to compete successfully in the labour market, and this approach includes extending help to groups that may face particular barriers to work. For example, the New Deal for lone parents provides a comprehensive package of support including help with training, education and child care, and the New Deal for partners of benefit claimants will be enhanced from April 2004 to provide he same package of support. Participants in the New Deal for over 50s, who may have been out of the labour market for some time, are eligible for training grants to help update their skills. The New Deal for disabled people provides a national network of innovative job brokers to help disabled people locate and move into secure employment.
Support has also been extended to local areas with high levels of worklessness where residents may face multiple barriers to work. For example, Employment Zones in 16 areas of England, Scotland and Wales allow jobseekers and their personal advisers to use funds with complete flexibility to overcome individual barriers to work.
The Government have also reformed the benefits systems to improve work incentives and ensure that individuals are rewarded as they move into, and progress within, employment. The national minimum wage (NMW) provides fair minimum incomes from work, and the working tax credit, introduced in April 2003, is designed to tackle poor work incentives and persistent poverty among working people, providing support on top of the guarantee provided by the NMW.