Labour

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, responding to Ofsted’s report on Learndirect, said:

“We hope the Government has listened to our call to step in and protect trainees and apprentices in the short term, but in the long term it still leaves serious questions about the provision of training, as well as how we got into this position in the first place.

“This is why Ministers should take direct control now, to make sure the service is protected and restored to its previous high standards.

“Today’s Ofsted report is just the latest evidence of the damage done by Government cuts, privatisation and falling investment. It’s time for a different approach, which is why Labour would invest in genuinely high-quality technical and adult education, with free lifelong learning for all, so that people can re-skill and re-train throughout their lives.”

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, responding to the publication of A-Level results today, said:

“Congratulations to everyone around the country receiving their A-Level results today and thank you to the parents, teachers and school leaders who work hard to support young people through their education.

“They have managed this in the face of Tory cuts and large scale changes to exams that have made this process an even greater challenge.  

“It is only with the support of the whole school community that young people can realise their full potential. They should be rightfully proud of what they have achieved together.”

Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on today’s Labour Market Statistics, said:

“Labour welcomes the overall increase in employment but we are deeply concerned that millions have faced a real terms pay cut under this government. With wages continuing to fall in real terms, Tory cuts to in-work support, and rising prices, many households and families are worse off under this government. 

“The Government has failed to close the employment gap faced by women, disabled people and ethnic minority groups, who are still less likely to be in work, and has failed to tackle regional inequalities in the Labour market.

“A Labour government will stand up for all working people, implementing a real Living Wage of £10 per hour and bringing an immediate end to Tory austerity.”

Labour is calling for the roll out of Universal Credit to be halted as new data shows that while wages are failing to keep up with inflation, cuts to in-work social security support have meant most net incomes of recipients have flat-lined in real terms and in some cases worsened, with women and people from ethnic minority communities worst affected.

Analysis from the House of Commons Library, shows real wages stagnating and in-work support contracting for both private and public sector workers.

The analysis looked at different types of households and income groups all working full time. It shows single parents with dependent children being particularly badly affected, with up to £3,100 a year less than they received with Tax Credits. 

The analysis also shows that nurses and teachers will be hit particularly hard by the combination of stagnating wages and cuts to social security.

A single parent of two working full-time as a teacher who is a new claimant to Universal Credit will be around £3,700 a year worse off in 2018/19 compared to 2011/12. A single parent of two working in the NHS on average full time earnings for the public sector who is a new tax credit claimant will be over £2,000 a year worse off in real-terms in 2018/19 compared to 2011/12.

Equality analysis published in response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Labour, predicts cuts to Universal Credit will fall most heavily on women and ethnic minorities. This analysis shows that households with a woman or member of an ethnic minority are more likely to be adversely affected by cuts to Universal Credit work allowances.

Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, commenting on the newly-published analyses, said:

“It is shocking that most people on low and middle incomes are no better off than they were five years ago, and in some cases they are worse off. The Government’s cuts to in-work support of both tax credits and Universal Credit are having a dramatic effect on people’s lives, on top of stagnating wages and rising prices. 

“It’s no wonder we are seeing record levels of in-work poverty, now standing at a shocking 7.4 million people.

“These analyses make clear that the Government’s abject failure on living standards will get dramatically worse if Universal Credit is rolled out in its current form.  

“That’s why Labour is calling for the roll out to be stopped while urgent reform and redesign of Universal Credit is undertaken, making sure work always pays and that hardworking families are supported, creating a fair society for the many, not the few.” 

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, commenting on the Government’s latest customs proposals for our future relationship with the EU, said:

“The Government’s proposals are ambiguous, unachievable and offer no viable solutions.

“The first proposal for a streamlined customs arrangements is code for a hard-edged exit from the Customs Union, which will inevitably involve a border between the UK and any trading partner, including the EU27. This will mean delays and costs for UK businesses, especially manufacturing. The Government appear to be relying on unspecified technological solutions to reduce these burdens, but they can’t suggest how and when these new systems could be in place or how much they might cost.

“The second proposal is in David Davis’s own words “untested”. That’s because it is, in truth, a half-in half-out proposal without any clarity about how the Government plan to negotiate or deliver it. This will almost certainly entail considerable new bureaucratic burdens for British businesses, including complicated “tracking and repayment mechanisms”.

“We’ve seen today that the Government still has no viable plan to deliver frictionless trade with our largest market and closest allies. They are, as ever, putting jobs and the economy through their chaotic handling of Brexit.”