Economic Update

Maria Miller Excerpts

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

They absolutely have—the highest in over a decade, two years in a row. In this crisis, we have provided £3.7 billion for local authorities and an additional £600 million for infection control. Just last week, at the Local Government Association conference, my right hon. Friend the Local Government Secretary unveiled a new deal with local government to help provide some compensation for the losses through income that has gone, in a sharing arrangement, and it was warmly welcomed by the sector and at the LGA.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for so carefully judging what is needed now as we move forward, particularly to support young people who have been hard hit by recent events. Thousands of young people in my constituency got their first foot on the jobs ladder through apprenticeships at places such as the Basingstoke College of Technology. How will my right hon. Friend’s plan for jobs build confidence among employers to create and sustain more apprenticeships at this very difficult time?

[Rishi Sunak]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about the impact on young people. They are two and a half times more likely to work in a sector that has been closed down. She is right, and we know that apprenticeships work: the evidence points that way. What I can tell her is that, starting in September, employers will be paid £2,000 for every young apprentice that they take on, a bonus that will incentivise them to create more apprenticeships at this time of vital need.