Meeting of the Parliament 26 November 2015
I welcome not only the opportunity to speak in today’s debate but the attention that the Welfare Reform Committee has given to the relationship between policy choices and the opportunity of women. Although I have little doubt that there will be areas of fairly robust disagreement, I am pleased that agreement was found on several areas in the report. That was reflected in the constructive contributions of my colleague and predecessor on the committee, Annabel Goldie, who will be speaking later.
Despite its title, it is worth considering that the committee’s report and recommendations go further than the direct impact of benefits. The report touches on a range of issues from the status of women in the workplace, as parents—potentially lone parents—or carers, and the interplay of benefits, employment, childcare, flexible working and a variety of other measures. That is to its credit. However, I cannot shake the feeling that some of the context of changes to social security was missed.
When my party came into government in 2010, there was a very reasonable view that social security spending was too high, that it created perverse disincentives to employment and that it was extremely complex. The previous Labour Government, for its part, adopted a range of policies under the banner of welfare reform. The problem was that its vision was often contradictory, short-termist and, on some occasions—as with the introduction of employment and support allowance and the work capability assessment—poorly implemented.
I have no reservation in stating my ambition to see a lower welfare society. The best and most sustainable way to achieve that is to increase employment and financial independence. In terms of the latter, we should look towards the twin aims of higher pay and lower tax.
Across the United Kingdom, we have a record level of women in employment, with almost a million more in work since the 2010 general election. That is the benefit of delivering on an economic plan. The UK’s recovery, with economic growth leading the advanced economies of the world, has been notable for being employment-heavy.