Youth Unemployment

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The training courses that will be provided as part of the youth guarantee will not be charged for, and neither will the improved training that we will provide post-16 or apprenticeships, where young people will be earning at the same time as they are learning. If the noble Lord is making a point about the cost of living pressures on young people then I wholly accept that, but our responsibility is to ensure that those young people, through the new, free opportunities provided by the youth guarantee, are set off on a life that will enable them to build a good and high income for themselves and their families.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I welcome this initiative and thank the Minister for her responses. Is she aware that opportunities for young people with disabilities are very fractious at the moment? Will the Government ensure that people with all different disabilities, including autism, have the opportunity to benefit from this scheme with the kind of support that is promised?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My noble friend makes an important point. As I said in my Answer, it is one of the reasons why young people find it difficult to get into either further training or the workplace. We will certainly ensure, as we are doing through additional support for employers in apprenticeships, that where a young person has a disability, that support will be available to them and to the employer offering them the opportunity to work.