Youth Unemployment

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on such an important subject.

When I think of youth unemployment, what immediately comes to mind is the young woman I met on the doorstep during the election campaign who told me how she had been looking for work for a long time and just did not know how she was going to get a job. The hopelessness she felt was clear. Like her, far too many young people were left stuck at home and let down under the previous Government. As we have heard, it was during their last term in power that the number of young people not in education, employment or training shot up, growing by almost 50% between 2021 and 2024. They left a situation for young people where doors appeared to only close and never open.

The Government are determined to change that and so am I. From speaking to young people in Norwich, I know that they want that change, too. That is why opportunity has been one of my key priorities since day one, with a focus on opportunity for children and young people. Young people in Norfolk have spoken to me about some of the specific challenges they face—this has been alluded to—such as poor transport infrastructure, so it can be difficult to get to work, and, of course, the challenge of mental health.

But we need to better understand why so many young people have been left behind, which is why I welcome the Alan Milburn review, which will do exactly that. The causes of youth inactivity are not simple; we cannot put them down to one single factor. They are complex, they are not one size fits all, and we have to look at the structural causes as well. It is crucial that in that review the voices of young people themselves are heard. I know there has been a call for evidence, but I hope the Minister can expand on how young people in Norwich and across the country can get involved in this consultation.

I also want to mention the specific challenges faced by young people with special educational needs and disabilities. There is a theme that parents and young people have raised with me time and again in Norwich North. They felt that too often there was a cliff edge at 16 where young people were at risk of being left without adequate support to continue into education or to find a job that met their needs. There is much we disagree on in this House, as we have heard today, but I hope that we can all agree that we want a country where young people are supported into good jobs, work and employment and are able to fulfil their potential.

I welcome the Government’s approach and want to touch on some of the programmes being rolled out so far. There will be 360 youth hubs, and I am pleased that there will be three in Norfolk, including one in Norwich, and thousands more training and workplace opportunities in sectors from construction to health and social care for young people on universal credit, and of course there is the jobs guarantee that means that 18 to 21-year-olds on UC who have been looking for work for more than 18 months will be provided with six months of paid employment.

We must also focus on early intervention. This is key. As Youth Futures has identified, key factors that increase the risk of a young person being not in education, employment or training include poor school attendance, low attainment at GCSE and exclusion. That is why the schools White Paper will also be so important, and why it is vital that this is a whole-of-Government approach. I also welcome that the Government are investing in a new preventive tool that will help share data between councils and schools so that we can identify and support young people most at risk.

I want to turn to the local. I am working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions jobcentre in Norwich, city college and my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) to identify more work that can be done locally on this important agenda. Indeed, we met yesterday to discuss how we can help match young people with employment opportunities locally. I also regularly meet with local employers and apprenticeship providers to hear their perspectives, and there is much good work already under way. Last year, I was pleased to welcome the Minister for Social Security and Disability to visit Mind in Norwich. We learned about its excellent local routes into employment project, which helps people living with mental health conditions to find and keep paid employment that suits their individual needs. We spoke to a young person who had benefited from that support and a local employer who had given that young person a chance but had also felt many benefits. I am pleased that the Minister was looking at this project as it is exactly the kind of thing we should be supporting. I also welcome the Government’s investment in the connect to work scheme in Norfolk, working with Norfolk county council, which will support over 4,000 Norfolk residents facing extra barriers into work. That will benefit many young people.

Finally, I visited a local sixth form late last year. One of the many questions I was asked was about how we can equalise the minimum wage, because those present told me that they often felt underpaid and undervalued, and I was pleased to be able to tell them that this Government are listening and that paying young people a decent wage does matter. Just a few days later, we raised the national minimum wage for young people. For any Opposition Members who challenged this—and it felt like they were doing so a little bit—I challenge them to look young people in the eye and tell them why they do not deserve to be paid fairly, why their futures should not be invested in, and why they do not deserve that support.

My message to all young people today is that under this Government they will not find false promises or quick solutions that fail to materialise, but they will find a proper plan backed by investment that puts our money where our mouth is and invests in young people’s future.