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Welfare Reform

As my right hon. Friend will know, numerous people in constituencies such as mine began receiving incapacity and other benefits when the last Government closed the mines and steelworks, and we have a deep problem because so many people have been receiving those benefits for so many years. However, I have observed the exceptionally good work of Jobcentre Plus staff and some of the special teams that pathways has put together, and that of organisations in the voluntary sector that are working with people who have given up on themselves and their families. Can my right hon. Friend assure me, and other Members with constituencies similar to mine, that that special work—done, in some cases, by very small voluntary sector agencies—can be continued and strengthened, so that many more people who have given up will find that there are ways back to the normal world of work for them and their families?