Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 16 and 17 year olds have received support through the Youth Guarantee Gateway since its introduction.

The Youth Guarantee Gateway forms part of the expanded employment support available for eligible young people claiming Universal Credit and looking for work. The Youth Guarantee journey, including the Gateway, is available to young people aged 16 to 24 who are placed in the Intensive Work Search (IWS), Work Focused Interview (WFI), or Work Preparation regimes. Participation is mandatory for those in the IWS regime and available on a voluntary basis for those in the WFI or Work Preparation regimes. The Youth Guarantee Gateway was introduced in 81 Jobcentres in April 2026 and rolled out nationally across Great Britain from the end of June 2026.

Most 16 to 17-year-olds are in full-time education and therefore not eligible for Universal Credit. As of May 2026, there were 9,156 16 and 17-year-olds claiming Universal Credit, of whom 3,436 would be eligible for support through the Youth Guarantee Gateway if they were to make a claim after the expanded support had been rolled out to their Jobcentre.