Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help support young disabled people to find employment in the West Midlands.

With around one million young people not in education, employment or training, the Government is investing £2.5 billion by 2029 to deliver its Youth Guarantee and ensure young people have the opportunity to earn or learn.

Young disabled people in the West Midlands will benefit from the full breadth of Youth Guarantee Support. This includes an expanded network of Youth Hubs and earlier intensive support in Jobcentres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, in which every young person on Universal Credit looking for work will receive tailored support from their first appointment in the Jobcentre. Youth Employability Coaches (YEC) are a key part are a key part in this, providing flexible support to young people with significant, complex needs and barriers to help them move into employment. YEC support operates alongside Jobcentre work coaches, Disability Employment Advisors (DEA), Employment and Partnership teams and work coaches based in Youth Hubs to provide a seamless service for young people.

The Youth Guarantee is also expanding access to opportunities that help young people move into employment. This investment will create 300,000 additional opportunities to gain workplace experience and training and help unlock up to 200,000 additional employment opportunities through the £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant, a £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six-month job. From April 2027, the Jobs Guarantee will be expanded to include eligible young disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, with the Government fast-tracking access to the scheme for these groups to widen employment opportunities through the wider Youth Guarantee offer helping to tackle the persistently high disability employment gap.

Alongside this, young disabled people in the West Midlands can benefit from Connect to Work, the Government's voluntary, locally led supported employment programme. The West Midlands Mayoral Strategic Authority receives devolved funding through its Integrated Settlement to deliver specialist employment support to disabled people, people with health conditions and those facing more complex barriers to employment. Connect to Work will support around 300,000 people by the end of the decade, with around a quarter of participants expected to be aged under 25. Participants receive tailored support from a dedicated employment adviser to help them find, start and sustain employment.