Jobs Market: Wider Economic Implications

Debate between Baroness Sherlock and Earl of Clancarty

Thursday 18th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I think I might save the pension fund for the extensive debate we will have later, which is my Christmas present from the Chief Whip. That is all I can conclude. The noble Baroness makes a very important point. One of the things that the Government as a whole are doing is looking across the piece. The truth is that it is still quite early days in working out what, in the medium to long term, will be the impact of AI on the economy. There is evidence that jobs may be displaced in some sectors while in others jobs are created. While we are understanding the full impact, the challenge for us is to make sure we equip people with the skills that enable them to compete in the markets that are to come. There is a lot of work going on in my department, but also in DSIT and across government, to monitor this and develop strategies. In particular, there is work on investing in homegrown tech companies to make sure that we have the opportunities here in which we can invest and our young people can work.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, further to the points made about skills, will the Minister look at a new report by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre that finds that arts, culture and heritage sectors are all

“losing skilled employees due to low pay, limited progression and lack of flexibility”.

Although our freelance workers should certainly be better supported, there is concern over the levels of permanent creative staffing, including in theatre. How will the Government address these concerns?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

The noble Earl makes an excellent point. He is a fine ambassador for the creative sectors, for which I commend him. The Government are looking sector by sector at how we can support the development of skills. I am aware that we have had to work quite hard to protect some quite specialist skills, because if we lose them we will not get them back, certainly in the heritage sector. I am happy to look at how our sector work can do that, but what we are trying to do in DWP is to work with a wide range of employers to make sure that we know what they want, what skills they need and how we can support them. One thing that has made the biggest difference—I slightly bang on about it—is my noble friend Lady Smith’s welcome joining up of adult skills and the DWP. That can make a real difference, so I will make sure that we look carefully into that.

Jobs Market

Debate between Baroness Sherlock and Earl of Clancarty

Monday 13th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for an excellent question. I assume that she refers to the Government’s recent announcement that we are moving away from a target for university entrance to an ambition for two-thirds of young people to reach level 4 by age 25 and 10% to reach levels 4 and 5. In this country, we have traditionally done well on university degrees, but too few young people have level 4 and 5 qualifications—a missing middle that holds back our productivity and stops people getting those higher technical jobs. My noble friend’s point about horizon scanning is crucial. We know that by 2030 we will need 900,000 more skilled workers in priority sectors, two-thirds of whom will need qualifications at levels 4 and 5, so the DWP is working closely with business and, at a local level, local skills improvement plans are led by employers working with jobcentres and local partners. The detail is coming—the Government have a strategy for post-16 education and skills in the long term, which will come out in a White Paper on education and skills that I am assured is imminent.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, more than 84,000 jobs have been lost in the hospitality industry since the last Budget. This is an industry that should be growing, not contracting, as I hope the Minister would agree. What is the Government’s assessment of why this is occurring and how will they address it?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, within hospitality, there are still 78,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. That is unchanged on the quarter and is only 7,000 below the pre-pandemic level. Of course, there are global headwinds across the economy, but retail and hospitality are sectors where there has always been a lot of churn. We need to make sure that there are the appropriate workers at the appropriate level.

Therefore, we have announced the rollout of the hospitality SWAP pilots—sector-based work academy programmes—launched in partnership with UKHospitality. We are spreading them to 26 new areas which are in need of jobs and opportunities, including 13 coastal towns like Scarborough and Blackpool. We are also working with other key sectors. One challenge we have is to make sure we match the skills of workers with the jobs that are available. A SWAP can get someone job-ready and able to move into one of those jobs when they become available. There will always be vacancies and part of our job is to ensure that everyone has a chance of getting one. That is what we are focused on.

Employment, Education and Training: Young People

Debate between Baroness Sherlock and Earl of Clancarty

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising such an incredibly important point. I have the pleasure of having responsibility in my department for disadvantaged groups including care leavers, and I would be delighted to meet her and talk about this further. For a brief outline, here are some of the things the DWP does to support care leavers in different ways: they get priority access to universal credit and budgeting support and help; care leavers in staying-put arrangements can claim benefits under their own steam until 21 in many cases; and, crucially, we have a second-chance learning scheme, which means that if you are 18 to 21 and a care leaver, you can claim benefits and still study full-time to catch up on education you may have missed earlier. There is a lot more, which I cannot wait to tell her about. I look forward to meeting her.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, we are aware of the numbers, and the Minister is suggesting some action, but can she say how much research is being carried out to find out why NEETs are NEETs? What encouragement are the Government giving to such research?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

What a great question. It is really interesting. Some people are NEET for short periods, but we know that vulnerable and disadvantaged young people can be NEET for much longer periods and may have complex needs. Some young people are overrepresented in the long-term NEET group, including people with low educational attainment; children who are looked after, as I was discussing just now; children who are permanently excluded, or in PRUs or alternative provision; those with health conditions; and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. We are trying to attach each of these things separately, as well as looking at this as a category.