Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to 18-24 year olds in Oldham who are not in employment, education and training.

Youth unemployment in the UK is at a near record low; 5 per cent of young people aged 16-24 are unemployed and not in full time education. The latest claimant count for 18-24 year olds in the Oldham local authority area is 1,415, an increase of 485 on the year, which is due in part to Universal Credit expanding the ‘Searching for Work’ conditionality group*. However, this a fall of 720 since April 2010. The Government remains committed to providing targeted support for young people so that everyone, no matter what their start in life, is given the very best chance of getting into work. That is why we offer a range of support to young people to help them prepare for and move into work or an apprenticeship.

Young jobseekers, aged 18-21, in Oldham are being supported by the Youth Obligation Support Programme. This programme helps claimants become effective jobseekers from the start of their claim, provides tailored support and access to work-related training, including the offer of a guaranteed work experience placement if they are still unemployed after 6 months.

Young people up to the age of 25 also receive intensive work-focused coaching and referral to additional support tailored to their individual needs, drawn from a wide menu of available local provision within Oldham. This includes work experience, sector-based work academies, traineeships and other provision.

* The claimant count is currently designated as an experimental statistic by the Office for National Statistics as a result of the roll out of Universal Credit. Universal Credit full service expands the ‘Searching for Work’ conditionality group to cover a wider group of claimants, to encourage these claimants into work or to work more. This policy decision has the effect of bringing additional people into the claimant count compared to the pre-Universal Credit system and the number of people recorded as being on the Claimant Count is therefore likely to rise. DWP have published a consultation on developing a new measure for labour market performance over time. this can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposals-for-a-new-statistical-series-to-count-unemployed-claimants