Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many businesses are involved in the Kickstart Scheme; and how many 16-year olds have been offered placements through that scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
As of 25/02/2021, there have been around 800 employers and over 900 Gateways approved on the Kickstart scheme. We are unable to provide information on placements offered by age as this data is not currently held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) employers, and (2) unemployed young people, have joined the Kickstart Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Kickstart scheme has approved over 560 individual employers applying directly, this does not include the many more employers who have applied and had their jobs approved for Kickstart funding via more than 800 gateway organisations. Over 2000 young people have started a Kickstart job. We are pleased that so many young people are able to access the Kickstart Scheme under current public health restrictions.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many young people classified as not in education, employment or training they estimate are not in receipt of Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not publish statistics on the number of young people classified as not in education, employment or training in receipt of Universal Credit.
In their most recent figures The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimated that there were 765,000 young people (aged 16 to 24 years) in the UK who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in April to June 2020. These figures are publicly available on the ONS website.
In June 2020 there were 887,242 people aged 16 to 24 on Universal Credit, of which 628,272 were not in employment and 258,973 were in employment. These figures are publicly available on DWP’s Stat Xplore website.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of 16 and 17 year olds who will have their job placements funded by the Kickstart Scheme; and what eligibility restrictions apply, if any, to 16 and 17 year olds who have job placements funded by the scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Kickstart Scheme is making £2 billion available to eligible employers and gateway organisations. As of September 2020 the number of 16-17 year olds on UC was 10,394 and we plan to support those who will benefit into Kickstart job placements.
The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Guidance on eligibility has been published on the gov.uk/kickstart website.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend the eligibility criteria for applications to the Kickstart Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Guidance on eligibility has been published on the gov.uk/kickstart website. As of the 11th November 2020 we have received 4,359 applications and 19,672 Kickstart placements have been approved; we will keep the eligibility for the scheme under review, but have no current plans to extend it.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) 16, and (2) 17, year olds are unemployed and claiming Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The latest available information, showing the number of 16 and 17 year olds who are claiming Universal Credit and are not in employment, is given in the table below.
Number of 16 and 17 year olds claiming Universal Credit by Employment indicator, Great Britain, August 2020:
Age | Not in employment | In employment | Total |
16 | 1,499 | 64 | 1,560 |
17 | 7,909 | 891 | 8,799 |
Source: People on Universal Credit, Stat-Xplore, Department for Work and Pensions
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) 16, and (2) 17, year olds are participating in the Kickstart Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
As of September 2020, there were 10,394 16-17 year olds claiming Universal Credit. DWP Work Coaches are starting to refer suitable young people to employers who are offering Kickstart job placements – this will include young people aged 16 and 17 at risk of long term unemployment.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for 16 and 17 year olds to be disqualified from the Kickstart Scheme because they are unlikely to receive Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
We have considered the role that the Kickstart Scheme can play in supporting the employability of 16 and 17 year olds. The Kickstart Scheme is part of a wider range of employability support already on offer for 16 and 17 year olds – for example Mentoring Circles, which support young people aged 16-24, giving them an opportunity to build on their employability skills through facilitating an interaction with employers. Mentoring circles help to provide young job seekers with potential access to and interaction with role models in the workplace. Youth Hubs are also rolling out nationally, where young people can access wider support.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they intend to offer to students from vulnerable families who are unable to begin a degree course in September.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
If a person has deferred commencement of the first year of a degree course, they are not treated as a student and may be able to receive Universal Credit if they satisfy all of the other conditions of entitlement.
If a person has already started their degree course and is deferring a follow on year, they are treated as a student and financial support for students comes from the system of student loans and grants designed for their needs. Exceptions are made where students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system.