Clause 47 - Work-focused interviews for partners
Employment
5:15 pm
Mr Malcolm Wicks (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions; Croydon North, Labour)
I acknowledge that, in the current job market, for those who have had difficulty in finding work or who, because of personal circumstances, learning difficulties and so on, are less able to enter the labour market and feel less confident about it, much of the future lies in the face-to-face interview through the personal adviser, who must often deal with quite complex individual circumstances. That is why the training that we give our staff and—yes—sensitivity are at a premium.
If the hon. Gentleman is asking whether my Department has always got it right in the past, the answer must be no, we have not always got it right. All institutions make mistakes. Where mistakes are brought to our attention, we investigate, try to remedy the individual mistake and learn the lessons. Are we perfect? No, we are not, but we are striving to be as sensitive as we can be about these issues. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we shall monitor the situation carefully in future.