Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of closing the Internships Work project on (a) local authorities, (b) employment agencies and (c) young people.

In 2022, the department invested £18 million to improve the quality of supported internships and increase the quantity to 4,500 internships per year by March 2025. The Internships Work consortium has led this investment.

Owing to the commitment of everyone involved in the programme, indicative data shows that the department has reached its aim of doubling the number of supported internships to 4,500 across the country. The interim report from our evaluation of the programme also shows an improvement in the quality of intern placements with employers and numbers of interns progressing into employment. The full interim report can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supported-internship-programme-evaluation-of-investment.

We will provide an update in due course.