Minister Says People Should Work More Hours Or Get A “Better Paid Job” To Beat Cost Of Living Crisis
A minister suggested people should work more hours to deal with the cost of living crisis (Alamy)
2 min read
A government minister has said that people struggling with the cost of living crisis should work more hours in order to overcome financial difficulty.
Safeguarding minister Rachel Maclean also suggested people could “move to a better paid job” if they are struggling to deal with spiralling prices as the country is hit by the worst inflation for 40 years.
"We do have these short-term pressures on us that we're all aware of, but over the long-term we need to have a plan to grow the economy and make sure that people are able to protect themselves better, whether that is by taking on more hours or moving to a better-paid job,” Maclean told Sky News on Monday.
She said these were “long-term actions”, but did not believe it was a “straightforward” solution that would solve everyone’s problems with the cost of living.
“We have often heard in the past when people are facing problems with their budgets that one of the obstacles – and it may not be for everybody – is about being able to take on more hours or even move to a better paid job,” she added.
“It's an individual situation depending on that particular family's situation, but that's why the Job Centres exist, that’s why the work coaches exist, that’s why we put the support into those Job Centres to work with individuals on their own individual situation.”
Maclean also addressed the government's changes to police stop and search powers but was unclear on the number of hours the measures could be used for.
Speaking on LBC, Maclean endeavoured to explain that permanent changes to Section 60 extend the length of time extra searching powers can be in force from 15 to 24 hours.
"I think the time is 12 hours, but it has to be renewed on a proportionate basis when the intelligence is reviewed," she told presenter Nick Ferrari, who pointed out that the changes in fact extend searching powers for 24 hours.
Ferrari also noted that the current time period was 15 hours, rather than 12.
“I'm being quite upfront with you, I haven't got the paper in front of me, forgive me," Maclean explained.
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