<p>The Benefit Cap (Torfaen)</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 8 November 2016.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 2:15, 8 November 2016

Our unemployment rate is 4.1 per cent. We continue to provide jobs for our people. I regret the Member’s tone because I don’t believe that’s his true view. His view, I believe, is that there was a time in this country when there was a contract between people and the state, where the state would do what it could to provide housing, education, to provide good healthcare and also to provide people with a safety net if they became unemployed, but that has been whittled away over the years. When he tries to pit people who are unemployed against those who are employed, I think that is the wrong way forward. The reality is for many people that they struggle to get work because of, sometimes, disabilities; they struggle to get work and that is why they need extra help and qualifications, which we are providing; but, ultimately, I don’t agree that demonising people who are on benefits is actually a good way of building cohesion in society.