Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall clashed with Trevor Phillips after he accused her of not telling the full story about the government’s benefits crackdown.
The government wants to reduce the number of people on welfare, which has soared since the pandemic after millions of working age people failed to re-enter the jobs market.
On Sky News this morning, Phillips grew frustrated as Kendall tried to set out how she plans to incentivise benefit claimants to go back to work.
He said: “You keep describing the problem and also telling me about the great opportunities. What you’re not telling me is what happens when someone says they’ve decided not to take those opportunity.”
Kendall, who pointed out that one in eight young people are not in education, work or training, said: “We will provide those opportunities for those young people to be earning or learning because it is a disaster if you don’t have basic skills.”
Phillips then told the minister: “I’m hearing the carrot, but I’m not hearing the stick.”
Kendall replied: “Let me finish. If you let me finish, I will say it.
“You will have to take that up. There will be conditions because we think if you are out of work or lack basic skills when you’re young, it can have lifelong consequences.
“So we will be looking at those requirements for those young people who are currently economically inactive and claiming benefits.”
But Phillips hit back: “You’re still not telling me what will happen if they say ‘I like your requirements, I like your opportunities, but actually I’m off to the chip shop’.”
A clearly-frustrated Kendall said: “You know what, that is such a false representation, Trevor.”
The presenter told her: “You set it down in black and white, there will be consequences. We’ve been talking about this for five minutes and you have not told me a single consequence.”
Kendall said: “If people repeatedly refuse to take up the training or work responsibilities, there will be sanctions on their benefits.”
Asked if that meant they would lose their benefits, Kendall said: “Yes. We believe in our responsibility to provide those new opportunities, which is what we will do. But young people will be required to take them up.”
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