[{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"45548","proposer":"24715","edm":"62","session":"2013-14","title":"New Unite Community Centre In Tower Hamlets","text":"That this House congratulates Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite the Union, Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets and Barclays Bank for their unique partnership in launching a new Unite Community Centre, the first of its type, in Cable Street, Tower Hamlets, East London; notes that the centre will help people in one of the most deprived areas of the UK with employment and welfare issues; further notes that this community centre will be the first of a number of such centres that will be rolled out by Unite over the next period; acknowledges the important role played by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in helping to deliver this initiative; commends Barclays Bank for its support for the centre; and further notes that the centre will offer various educational courses, including IT skills as well as offering assistance to find employment, from creating a CV to interview preparation and with centre staff also advising on the growing number of welfare and benefit issues in London's second most deprived borough.","date":"2013-05-13","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"45509","proposer":"10527","edm":"22","session":"2013-14","title":"Seasonal Unemployment","text":"That this House notes with concern that many coastal resorts in the UK experience seasonal employment fluctuations; is concerned that many workers in resorts experience low wages and employment uncertainty; and calls on the Government to consider policies to address the difficulties coastal resort economies face outside the summer season.","date":"2013-05-08","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"44947","proposer":"24784","edm":"794","session":"2012-13","title":"Comet Redundancies","text":"That this House is deeply concerned by the job losses at Comet stores across the country, including 80 in Harlow, with more now at risk; calls on the administrators Deloitte to ensure that all Comet staff are treated fairly and that they receive proper advice and support; andfinally urges the Government to investigate this insolvency process, including the terms and structure of the purchase of Comet by OpCapita LLP in February 2012, given that a number of former Comet employees have now made allegations of serious malpractice.","date":"2012-11-28","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"44778","proposer":"10218","edm":"626","session":"2012-13","title":"Youth Unemployment","text":"That this House recognises that youth unemployment in Bradford is now a national crisis and that the number of people out of work has increased by 542 per cent since 2008 and the long-term unemployed by 771 per cent since 2011; calls on the Government to take drastic measures to deal with this including re-introducing educational maintenance allowance and pressurising Britain's largest companies who are now sitting on cash reserves of 70 billion to spend at least 10 per cent of this on taking on young people which would create 350,000 jobs; insists that the benefit of the reduction in corporation tax is invested in new jobs; and demands that the Government, rather than continue its austerity programme, invests in national and regional infrastructure and community projects which will have a direct impact on getting young people back to work.","date":"2012-10-24","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"44150","proposer":"10527","edm":"18","session":"2012-13","title":"Seasonal Unemployment","text":"That this House notes with concern that many coastal resorts in the UK experience seasonal employment fluctuations; is concerned that many workers in resorts experience low wages and employment uncertainty; and calls on the Government to consider policies to address the difficulties coastal resort economies face outside the summer season.","date":"2012-05-09","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"42663","proposer":"10383","edm":"1614","session":"2010-12","title":"Youth March For Jobs","text":"That this House expresses its support for the young people who are taking part in the March for Jobs which, in order to draw attention to the high level of youth unemployment, is retracing on its 75th anniversary the steps of the original Jarrow unemployed workers' march; and calls on all hon. Members to support the march, welcoming the marchers whenever they enter their constituencies en route.","date":"2011-03-16","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"42324","proposer":"24848","edm":"1305","session":"2010-12","title":"Housing Benefit And Long-Term Unemployment","text":"That this House notes that the Office of Budget Responsibility forecasts 1.36 million people will be claiming jobseeker's allowance at the start of 2013; further notes that in areas of high unemployment jobseekers are outnumbering job vacancies by more than 10 to one and that it will take longer than 12 months for many applicants to find a job; further notes that many of these people will need to claim housing benefit to cover the cost of their rent whilst they are registered as jobseekers; is concerned about people who have been on incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance who are moving over to jobseeker's allowance and who would have had less contact with the jobs market for many years; and therefore supports the National Housing Federation campaign calling on the Government to reconsider its proposals to reduce housing benefit by 10 per cent. for people claiming jobseeker's allowance for longer than one year.","date":"2011-01-19","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"41700","proposer":"24896","edm":"740","session":"2010-12","title":"Nacro's Change The Record Campaign","text":"That this House supports Nacro's Change the Record Campaign to give reformed offenders a fair chance of finding work, by reforming the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and decreasing the time for offences to become spent, by reviewing the scope of the Criminal Records Bureau checks to prevent unlawful and unnecessary checks so that employers can have access to a dedicated and conscientious workforce of reformed offenders who have put their pasts behind them, and to maintain a proportionate checking system so that children, vulnerable adults and employers are appropriately safeguarded and that society is saved the expense of needlessly condemning reformed offenders to a life of unemployment.","date":"2010-09-15","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"41550","proposer":"11420","edm":"593","session":"2010-12","title":"Long-Term Unemployed","text":"That this House recognises the challenges of ensuring that the long-term unemployed participate in society; remembers with fondness the community programme as a scheme which enabled people to contribute to society and fulfil useful functions whilst improving their living standards and getting experience of work; is concerned as to what the effect on unemployed households may be after one year of unemployment; and calls for the Government to consider implementing a scheme whereby the non-statutory sector can employ the long-term unemployed for socially useful projects whilst they retain their benefits, but pay a large proportion of their earnings to the Exchequer, thereby ensuring they are able to contribute to society, improve their standard of living, develop additional skills, mitigate the effects of any reduction in housing benefit and avoid being trapped in poverty.","date":"2010-07-22","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"41225","proposer":"10884","edm":"293","session":"2010-12","title":"St Mungo's Action Week","text":"That this House supports the aims of St Mungo's Action Week 2010 from 20 to 27 June, which focuses on the dedicated support that homeless people need to make the journey back to work; recognises that the homeless, socially excluded and long-term unemployed require integrated, personalised and specialist support to get back into employment; and calls on the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department of Health to work together to improve the support provided to this vulnerable group.","date":"2010-06-22","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"41227","proposer":"11607","edm":"295","session":"2010-12","title":"Jarvis And Rail Engineering Jobs","text":"That this House notes that on 31 March 2010 1,200 Jarvis rail workers were sacked after the company went into administration and Network Rail refused to back a rescue plan; is appalled that Jarvis workers have not received outstanding wages or redundancy pay; considers it a scandal that Network Rail is now in exclusive negotiations to transfer to other companies all work undertaken by over a thousand Jarvis employees who were made redundant; is concerned that the dismissal of these skilled and experienced rail engineers will have serious consequences for rail services in this country, impacting upon the safety of the railway and inhibiting future capacity for major infrastructure projects such as high speed rail; welcomes the agreement to transfer up to 350 jobs to Babcock Rail; believes that natural justice demands Network Rail must ensure that all former Jarvis employees are transferred to new contractors under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) legislation; and urges the Government to ensure that Network Rail works constructively with trades unions, providing all necessary information to them to assist in securing these workers' future employment.","date":"2010-06-22","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"41073","proposer":"24743","edm":"154","session":"2010-12","title":"Carmarthenshire County Council Job Losses","text":"That this House notes that Carmarthenshire County Council has written to all employees warning that 500 jobs could be lost as a consequence of budget reduction targets over the next few years; further notes that these potential job losses were announced based on the likely financial climate faced by Welsh local authorities based on the projections of the previous UK Government; acknowledges that the additional \u00a3187 million of cuts in the Welsh government budget for this year announced by the new UK Government will increase the pressure for Welsh public bodies to reduce their staffing liabilities; and calls on public bodies who now inevitably have to cut jobs and wages to do so on a holistic basis rather than targeting low paid public sector workers.","date":"2010-06-07","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"40985","proposer":"10527","edm":"71","session":"2010-12","title":"Seasonal Unemployment","text":"That this House notes with concern that many coastal resorts in the UK experience seasonal employment fluctuations; is concerned that many workers in resorts experience low wages and employment uncertainty; and calls on the Government to consider policies to address the difficulties coastal resort economies face out of the summer season.","date":"2010-05-25","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"40618","proposer":"11672","edm":"996","session":"2009-10","title":"Carlsberg UK And The Closure Of Tetley's Leeds Brewery","text":"That this House condemns the decision by Carlsberg to close the Tetley's Leeds Brewery and transfer brewing of Tetley's cask ales to Wolverhampton and Tetley's Smoothflow to Tadcaster; notes that Tetley's ales have been brewed in Leeds for 187 years and that Tetley's is an iconic Leeds brand; believes that this is a decision made in the interests of corporate greed with no regard for Tetley's heritage as a famous Leeds beer; deplores the potential loss of 170 jobs from the Leeds Brewery; further believes that Carlsberg has betrayed Tetley's and Leeds; and calls on the people of Leeds to show how they feel about the decision and boycott Carlsberg lager.","date":"2010-03-03","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"40353","proposer":"10001","edm":"761","session":"2009-10","title":"Black Youth Unemployment","text":"That this House is alarmed that almost half of young black people aged between 16 and 24 are unemployed; is concerned that ethnic groups have been hardest hit by the recession; notes that the Government's pledge to shield ethnic minorities from the recession has failed; further notes that surveys have revealed that black and Muslim young are disproportionately unemployed even when they have comparable qualifications to those in employment; believes institutional racism still exists in the workplace; and calls on the Government to address these issues by doing more to drive local employment in areas like Hackney and other Olympic boroughs where a disproportionately low number of people work on the Olympic site.","date":"2010-02-01","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"39740","proposer":"10383","edm":"200","session":"2009-10","title":"Twinings","text":"That this House expresses its concern that Twinings intends to close down its North Shields plant, resulting in the loss of 263 jobs, and to shed 129 jobs from its Andover plant and move the majority of its production to Poland and China; notes that Twinings and its parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) remain hugely profitable, making in excess of \u00a356 million; further notes the adverse impact that this decision will have on the local economies and people of North Shields and Andover; therefore calls on Twinings and ABF to reverse their decision and to maintain their plant in North Shields and full production in Andover; and calls on the Government to intervene as a matter of urgency to prevent such unnecessary loss of jobs in the UK.","date":"2009-11-24","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"39741","proposer":"10383","edm":"201","session":"2009-10","title":"Land Registry Office Closures","text":"That this House expresses its concern at the announcement that five Land Registry offices are to close in Croydon, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Stevenage and Tunbridge Wells with the loss of 1,100 jobs; notes that 1,700 jobs have already been lost in the Land Registry and that there are real concerns about maintaining a decent service; further notes that 30 per cent. of all land in England and Wales remains unregistered and so there is plenty of work to be done; and therefore calls on the Government to withdraw these proposals and invest in maintaining a strong Land Registry with a comprehensive land registration system.","date":"2009-11-24","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"39603","proposer":"10527","edm":"66","session":"2009-10","title":"Seasonal Unemployment","text":"That this House notes with concern that many coastal resorts in the UK experience seasonal employment fluctuations; is concerned that many workers in resorts experience low wages and employment uncertainty;notes that the Government has no specific strategy to ensure year-round sustainable, fairly-paid employment; and calls on the Government to consider policies to address the difficulties coastal resort economies face out of the summer season.","date":"2009-11-18","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"39442","proposer":"10346","edm":"2187","session":"2008-09","title":"Responses To Job Applications","text":"That this House recognises the extremely demoralising situation in which people, especially young people, are put when they cannot secure a job; further notes that this situation is augmented when people apply for jobs and do not even receive an acknowledgement of an application or notification of final appointment; and believes that employers should be legally compelled to contact all applicants both to acknowledge receipt of application and again after selection has been made to notify applicants whether they have been successful.","date":"2009-10-28","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"38669","proposer":"10367","edm":"1499","session":"2008-09","title":"Redundancies In Universities","text":"That this House notes with extreme concern that up to 100 universities are currently planning redundancies, which amounts to two-thirds of higher education institutions cutting jobs; agrees that in a time of recession, higher education and higher level skills should be at the forefront of any plan for long term recovery, and that cutting jobs, course provision and student places is not in the interests of the economy or society; and calls on universities to work in partnership with the trades unions to provide a national plan to avoid cuts and defend provision, quality and access to higher education.","date":"2009-05-15","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"38538","proposer":"11245","edm":"1379","session":"2008-09","title":"Unemployment And Older Workers","text":"That this House expresses concern at the recent sharp increases in unemployment; welcomes the Government's announcement of 1.7 billion of funding for Jobcentre Plus; notes that those over 50 years old have lost their jobs at the highest percentage rate over the past year and that the chance of older men finding future employment falls by a quarter each year they are out of the labour market; recognises that the skills, experience and contribution of older workers should not be lost to the economy; and calls on the Government to introduce a new package of support for unemployed people over the age of 50 years to be made available within three months of them losing their jobs and to train Jobcentre Plus staff to improve the support provided to older clients, including targeted work with older clients who need to change their careers, who face age discrimination and who sometimes need confidence-building for interviews.","date":"2009-04-28","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"38163","proposer":"10487","edm":"1059","session":"2008-09","title":"Ratio Of Jobseekers To Vacancies In Pendle","text":"That this House notes that the hon. Member for Hertsmere, speaking for the Official Opposition in the Unemployment debate on 10 March 2009, stated that he visits jobcentres where there are many times more jobseekers than vacancies, claiming that there are 12 jobseekers for every vacancy in Pendle; further notes that the hon. Member visited the Colne office on 17 February 2009 but that the 12:1 ratio was not discussed at any point with officials; records that in January 2009 there were 1,746 people on the jobseeker's allowance register and 376 jobs notified giving an overall ratio of jobseekers to jobs in Pendle of 5:1, with the Colne ratio coming in at 3:1 and Nelson at 7:1; recognises these ratios can fluctuate on a daily basis and that unemployment in Pendle as elsewhere is rising but is well below the all time high of 4,914 recorded in July 1986; and resolves to do everything it can to ensure the recession is as short and shallow as possible, to keep people in work and to encourage the growth of new employment opportunities.","date":"2009-03-11","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"37688","proposer":"10001","edm":"638","session":"2008-09","title":"Effects Of Unemployment","text":"That this House is deeply concerned by the latest figures on unemployment; notes that unemployment has a devastating effect not only on families, but in certain cases, whole communities that are involved in and affected by job cuts; is further concerned that a number of large employers have expressed plans further to reduce staff numbers; and calls on the Government to do all it can to work with companies to try to reduce the number of planned redundancies, to support the families and communities affected by job cuts and to improve funding for training opportunities for the UK's young people.","date":"2009-01-29","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"37630","proposer":"13933","edm":"592","session":"2008-09","title":"Jobcentre Plus And Companies Entering Administration","text":"That this House is deeply concerned at the lack of consistency shown by administrators in allowing the excellent Jobcentre Plus access to employees on the day a company enters administration; calls on the Insolvency Service and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure administrators work with Jobcentre Plus by instructing the administrators to inform Jobcentre Plus of a company entering administration, therefore allowing Jobcentre Plus to help those employees affected to find new employment, access to benefits and training; and considers that denying employees access to Jobcentre Plus from day one is shamefully short-sighted, and ignores the future welfare of employees, who have more often than not worked for the company going into administration for many years.","date":"2009-01-27","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"37475","proposer":"11995","edm":"452","session":"2008-09","title":"Jobcentre Network","text":"That this House welcomes the Government's decision to halt the jobcentre closure programme; notes that significant gaps have been left in the jobcentre network due to the closure of nearly 500 jobcentre plus offices since 2002; further notes that jobcentres are facing an enlarged workload due to the economic downturn; expresses concern that increasing numbers of jobseekers from rural constituencies may have to travel significant distances at a considerable cost to visit a jobcentre plus due to closures; and calls on the Government to reinstate offices that have previously been closed where that is possible and to implement a jobcentre outreach programme that places jobcentre plus staff and computer terminals in existing public buildings such as community centres, libraries and council service points so that jobcentre plus services can reach the widest possible range of communities.","date":"2009-01-14","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"37343","proposer":"10128","edm":"332","session":"2008-09","title":"European Social Fund And Retraining","text":"That this House welcomes the Government's decision to pledge a further \u00c2\u00a358 million from the European Social Fund (ESF) allocation to retrain people facing redundancy in addition to the \u00c2\u00a3100 million pledged to the scheme in October 2008, in contrast to the lack of action by the minority SNP Scottish government which has failed to pledge any of its ESF funding for assistance to those facing the impact of unemployment when Scotland faces the additional problem of a freeze in the commissioning of new public sector capital works due to the failure of the SNP proposed Scottish Futures Trust funding method; and calls upon the appropriate Government department and the Secretary of State for Scotland to enter into discussions with the Scottish government to try to convince it of the error of its ways and the merits of such a scheme.","date":"2008-12-17","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"37163","proposer":"12834","edm":"171","session":"2008-09","title":"Redundancies At Herald And Times Newspaper Group","text":"That this House condemns the management of the Sunday Herald, Herald and Evening Times in summarily dismissing over 240 journalists, telling them to reapply for their jobs, despite issuing each journalist with 90 days notice of redundancy; and further notes that the Herald is no longer available in the House of Commons.","date":"2008-12-08","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"37065","proposer":"10527","edm":"73","session":"2008-09","title":"Seasonal Unemployment","text":"That this House notes with concern that many coastal resorts in the UK experience seasonal employment fluctuations; is concerned that many workers in resorts experience low wages and employment uncertainty; further notes that the Government has no specific strategy to ensure year-round sustainable, fairly-paid employment; and calls on the Government to consider policies to address the difficulties coastal resort economies face out of the summer season.","date":"2008-12-03","status":"o"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"36328","proposer":"11812","edm":"1990","session":"2007-08","title":"Social Security (S.i., 2008, No. 1554)","text":"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Provisions) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 (S.I., 2008, No. 1554), dated 12th June 2008, a copy of which was laid before this House on 19th June, be annulled.","date":"2008-07-08","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35922","proposer":"10383","edm":"1640","session":"2007-08","title":"Thomson Reuters Job Losses","text":"That this House notes the announcement from media group Thomson Reuters that it plans to axe 140 journalists' jobs of which more than half are located in London and Europe; further notes that Thomson Reuters has failed to consult adequately with staff prior to the announcement despite months of requests and approaches from union representatives; is concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the merger between Thomsons and Reuters and the absence of a clear and coherent business case outlining such a large number of job cuts; believes that Reuters employees are already working in difficult circumstances after a series of cutbacks; further believes in the importance of high-quality journalism and is anxious that poor conditions, cutbacks, inadequate pay and job uncertainty threatens this provision; and therefore urges the management to enter into meaningful dialogue with the unions representing staff immediately.","date":"2008-05-22","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35866","proposer":"11350","edm":"1589","session":"2007-08","title":"Proposed Closure Of Kilburn Jobcentre Plus","text":"That this House expresses its deep regret at the Department for Work and Pensions' intention to close Kilburn Jobcentre Plus; notes that Jobcentre Plus offices play a valuable role in communities by offering a route back into employment particularly in an area such as Kilburn which has one of the highest levels of unemployment in London; further notes that any closures will mean increased waiting times at Willesden and North Kensington Jobcentre Plus offices and that pensioners, lone parents and the disabled will have to travel a lot further to reach their nearest branch; expresses dismay that Kilburn Jobcentre Plus was opened just six years ago at a cost of \u00c2\u00a31 million; and calls on the Government actively to seek ways to make finding work easier, rather than harder, for the residents of Brent.","date":"2008-05-15","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35791","proposer":"10920","edm":"1523","session":"2007-08","title":"Job Centres And Advertising Of Adult Services","text":"That this House disapproves of the fact that JobCentre Plus is advertising vacancies in adult sex clubs and other adult services; and believes this advertising should be discontinued.","date":"2008-05-08","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35738","proposer":"11812","edm":"1473","session":"2007-08","title":"Social Security (S.i., 2008, No. 794)","text":"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 (S.I., 2008, No. 794), dated 25th March 2008, a copy of which was laid before this House on 27th March, be annulled.","date":"2008-05-01","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35739","proposer":"11812","edm":"1474","session":"2007-08","title":"Social Security (S.i., 2008, No. 795)","text":"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Employment and Support Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2008 (S.I., 2008, No. 795), dated 25th March 2008, a copy of which was laid before this House on 27th March, be annulled.","date":"2008-05-01","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35740","proposer":"11812","edm":"1475","session":"2007-08","title":"Social Security (S.i., 2008, No. 1082)","text":"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2008 (S.I., 2008, No. 1082), dated 14th April 2008, a copy of which was laid before this House on 18th April, be annulled.","date":"2008-05-01","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35408","proposer":"11784","edm":"1186","session":"2007-08","title":"Hm Revenue And Customs Offices In Greater Manchester","text":"That this House notes with concern proposals to close half of Greater Manchester's 18 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices; recognises that the staff employed provide a first-class service to people in Greater Manchester; is concerned that the ability of HMRC to provide tax advice to the public and local businesses in Rochdale, Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Cheadle, Oldham, Salford and Stockport would be undermined by these closures; and calls on the Government and HMRC to reverse this decision and ensure that the people of Greater Manchester have an easily accessible Revenue and Customs office in their area.","date":"2008-03-13","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35389","proposer":"10295","edm":"1169","session":"2007-08","title":"Hm Revenue And Customs Office Chorley","text":"That this House notes with concern the proposal to close the HM Revenue and Customs Office in Chorley; recognises that the staff employed provide a first class service to local people serving a population in excess of 100,000; further notes that in previous years the role of the Chorley office has been recognised when reviews have been undertaken; and calls on the Government and HM Revenue and Customs to reverse this decision and ensure that the people of Chorley and surrounding districts have an easily accessible Revenue and Customs office within the locality.","date":"2008-03-11","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35335","proposer":"10077","edm":"1116","session":"2007-08","title":"Housing And Employment","text":"That this House recalls Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees everyone the unqualified right to adequate housing irrespective of employment status and welcomes the Government's announcement to build three million new homes; but notes with concern proposals to make the right to access social housing contingent upon the applicant's activities in the labour market; believes that such a policy will place a greater burden on the taxpayer in terms of temporary accommodation costs, increase the already too large number of homeless people, increase poverty among vulnerable groups, and will not tackle barriers that are in place for those trapped in a cycle of unemployment; further notes that such issues as housing benefit regulations act as a barrier for people to access work and that reform is much overdue, that changes in benefit regulation, greater provision of employment advice and support as well as increased low-cost childcare options would help many of those who are currently unemployed enter into the labour market; believes that threatening the tenancies of social housing residents is not an effective solution to tackle unemployment; and calls upon the Government to reject this approach to housing and employment.","date":"2008-03-05","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35176","proposer":"10458","edm":"981","session":"2007-08","title":"Job Losses At Cadbury","text":"That this House is alarmed at the proposal by Cadbury plc to close its Somerdale factory at Keynsham, Bristol, with a loss of more than 500 jobs and to reduce the workforce at Bourneville, West Midlands; notes that the work of both factories will be transferred to Poland where labour costs are only 18 per cent. of that of the UK; further notes that Cadbury's British operations are efficient and profitable and that the British workforce therefore faces the prospect of unemployment purely due to the desire to increase already large profits; and is concerned that the company's plans will lead to environmental harm because of the need to transport products from Poland to Britain, which constitutes more than 90 per cent. of the market for the products of the Keynsham and Bourneville factories.","date":"2008-02-20","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35053","proposer":"10383","edm":"877","session":"2007-08","title":"Poverty In The UK","text":"That this House notes the recent comments by the Government's welfare reforms adviser, David Freud, about those on incapacity benefits, by the newly appointed Work and Pensions Secretary of State on the unemployed and those on incapacity benefits and by the new Housing Minister on eligibility for council housing; further notes two recent reports by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and by the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, which respectively show the UK income inequality to be at its highest levels since the late 1940s and that fuel poverty targets will be missed, which follows the failure of the Government to meet child poverty targets; and therefore calls upon Government Ministers to concentrate on attacking poverty rather than attacking the poor.","date":"2008-02-05","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"35009","proposer":"11420","edm":"841","session":"2007-08","title":"Incapacity Benefit Appeals","text":"That this House notes that people who are appealing against the refusal of incapacity benefit have their job seeker's allowance reduced by 20 per cent. until the appeal is resolved; further notes that over a third of appeals in 2006-07 against removal of incapacity benefit were found in favour of the appellant; and urges the Government to review whether the reduction in job seeker's allowance for appellants undermines justice by preventing people from being able to afford to appeal.","date":"2008-01-31","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"34591","proposer":"11581","edm":"458","session":"2007-08","title":"HER MAJESTY'S REVENUE AND CUSTOMS","text":"That this House notes with serious concern the continuing threat to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices and jobs in Cornwall; believes that closure of HMRC offices will have an adverse impact on local communities and vulnerable individuals; notes the efforts of HMRC staff to reduce fraud in the tax system; believes that reducing staff numbers will cause more fraud to go undetected, proving the reduction to be a false economy; further notes the loss of 25 million people's personal data; condemns the Government for describing massive systemic failure as junior official error; believes that the recent data loss crisis will result in an increase in child benefit enquiries, as well as additional security checks; further believes that, given this latest incident, it is entirely inappropriate for the Government to put more pressure on staff by continuing with job cuts and office closures; and calls upon the Government to reassess and reconsider its proposals in this light.","date":"2007-12-04","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"34543","proposer":"10383","edm":"421","session":"2007-08","title":"Remploy Compromise Programme","text":"That this House urges the Government to adopt the Remploy Compromise Programme to ensure the successful future of Remploy in order to prevent the need for the proposed large scale programme of factory closures; welcomes the programme which includes a restructuring of the company, particularly management structures, to make it fit for purpose to exploit the opportunities for new business from local and national public procurement, the replacement of the board of directors with individuals with a proven track record of commitment to the core principles of Remploy as an employer of workers with disabilities and of operating effectively in a commercial environment, the immediate re-engagement within the National Trade Union Consortium for meaningful discussions on cost savings, the appointment of two trade union directors elected by the workforce and the engagement with local and national public bodies able to provide work for appointed employers such as Remploy through public procurement; and further calls for a full moratorium on any factory closures to give time for the Compromise Programme to take effect.","date":"2007-11-28","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"34514","proposer":"11323","edm":"393","session":"2007-08","title":"Language Training For Jobseekers","text":"That this House supports the Government's intention to make English language training available for jobseekers; notes that in Wales an ability in both English and Welsh is increasingly an essential occupational qualification; and believes therefore that in Wales training in Welsh should be available to jobseekers on the same basis as training in English and that extra consequential funding should be made available to achieve this end.","date":"2007-11-26","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"34376","proposer":"10001","edm":"269","session":"2007-08","title":"Child Poverty In London And Black And Ethnic Minority Communities","text":"That this House recognises the results of the Institute for Social and Economic Research's recent report into child poverty in London which finds that the high level of child poverty in London will have adverse affects on the Government's child poverty targets; notes that at present black and ethnic minority communities in London are disproportionately affected by social exclusion and poverty; further notes that the report estimates that removing current disparities in parental unemployment rates between white and black and ethnic minority populations in London would reduce child poverty rates by 4.5 per cent.; and calls on the Government to bring child benefit for the second and subsequent children up to the level of the first child, increase child benefit payments for all children, raise the level of the minimum wage in London and review the system of housing benefit so that it is not a disincentive to return to work in areas with high housing costs.","date":"2007-11-14","status":"c"},{"topic":"Unemployment","id":"34211","proposer":"10780","edm":"121","session":"2007-08","title":"Assistance Following Limavady Seagate Closure Announcement","text":"That this House recognises the scale of problems that will occur in the East Londonderry constituency following the announcement by Seagate of the closure of their Limavady factory in the second half of 2008 with the loss of over 900 jobs; and calls upon Invest Northern Ireland and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland to ensure that every possible step is taken to promote both inward investment and the indigenous small and medium-sized sector and to ensure that training and skills are offered as a matter of urgency to affected Seagate employees and others in the North West of Northern Ireland in the face of a potentially devastating economic body blow, the pro-rata equivalent of almost a 10,000 job loss in the Belfast area.","date":"2007-11-07","status":"c"}]