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Press release: Children living in workless households at lowest level since records began

The number of households where no one works has fallen by 828,000 since 2010 and is now at its lowest level in more than a decade, according to new independent figures released today.

Over 17.6 million households now have at least one working adult, meaning that around 9 in every 10 children live with a working adult.

Less than 15% of households are classed as workless, with the number having fallen by 72,000 since last year.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Damian Green said:

More parents now have the opportunity to find work and enjoy the dignity and security of having a regular wage.

We will continue to build on this success as we roll-out Universal Credit to all parts of the country – ensuring that it always pays to be in work.

The latest employment figures show that there are 31.84 million people in work, and the unemployment rate (4.8%) is at the lowest in over a decade.

The proportion of lone parents working rose to 67.9% in 2016, an increase of over 10% since 2010.

The government’s welfare reforms are returning fairness to the benefit system and encouraging people who are able to work to do just that. They include:

  • the benefit cap, which ensures that families don’t receive more in benefits than the average family earns
  • Universal Credit, the biggest change to the welfare system in a generation
  • the Claimant Commitment, which spells out what we expect from jobseekers when they search for work
  • the New Enterprise Allowance scheme, which helps people on benefits to become their own boss

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 3267 5124

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HM Government • • •

Dubs Amendment: the families that opened their doors to child refugees that have yet to come

1 March 2017

Catherine Marchand: “Our lives, like many others in our position, are on hold as we wait to see whether Theresa May will let us open up our home and provide the safety and security that these unaccompanied minors so desperately need.”

Duncan Blinkhorn: “Our message to politicians is: we are here, we are waiting to help, and we are not alone.”

Keith Taylor MEP: “There are families and local authorities across the country that are waiting to provide the support and security these vulnerable children need.”

There are families, communities and local authorities across the UK waiting to help vulnerable child refugees, according to Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East.

The former Brighton councillor is highlighting the story of a Brighton couple who have spent the last seven months going through a rigorous fostering process in the hope of offering a safe home to a vulnerable child fleeing conflict.

Catherine Marchand and Duncan Blinkhorn from the Hanover and Elm Grove area of the city are speaking out about the Government’s ‘callous’ abandonment of child refugees ahead of Wednesday’s Commons vote on the Dubs Amendment.

Catherine and Duncan, both 55, hope to demonstrate to MPs that there are compassionate families across the UK keen and able to care for and provide homes for the 3000 unaccompanied minors the Government had originally promised to bring to safety.

Catherine, a Community Nurse who has worked in the NHS for more 35 years, said:

“The government’s decision to renege on its promise to thousands of the most vulnerable refugee children is utterly appalling.”

“Our lives, like many others in our position, are on hold as we wait to see whether Theresa May will let us open up our home and provide the safety and security that these unaccompanied minors so desperately need.”

“The success of the World War II Kindertransport scheme, to which my family and countless others will forever owe a debt of gratitude, relied on the goodwill of national governments and their peoples. The British people’s compassion and goodwill is not lacking – so where is our Government’s? History will not judge us kindly if Theresa May insists on maintaining her callous approach to a refugee crisis that is driving unaccompanied children into the arms of human traffickers and extremist groups.”

Catherine’s partner, Duncan, the co-ordinator of the Brighton Bike Hub, added:

“We have invested much of the last seven months in making preparations to help. We are lucky to have the support of our community and are proud that Brighton and Hove identifies as a ‘city of sanctuary’. Ours is not an isolated case, there are families like ours in communities across the country that are keen and able to help”

“Our message to politicians is: we are here, we are waiting to help, and we are not alone; now is not the time to pull up the drawbridge, it is the time to embrace your humanity and uphold a promise you made to three thousand vulnerable child refugees.”

Keith Taylor, who has been a vocal critic of the Government’s wavering response to the refugee crisis, said:

“I share, wholeheartedly, Cathy and Duncan’s sense of anger and frustration at the Government’s behaviour towards the most vulnerable child refugees. While I want to commend Cathy and Duncan for their patience and their compassion it is important to recognise that their story is not unique; there are families and local authorities across the country that are waiting to provide the support and security these vulnerable children need.”

“The UK has taken just 350 lone child refugees which is nowhere near the 3000 originally proposed by Lord Dubs and is equivalent to fewer than one per local authority in the UK.”

“Britain has a proud tradition of welcoming those most in need. We stepped up to rescue 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi persecution. Which is why I am echoing Cathy and Duncan’s calls for MPs to stand by the country’s values and fight to reverse Theresa May’s decision and keep the Dubs scheme alive.”

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Green Party • • •