Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proposals she put to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in advance of his statement entitled, Summer Economic Update.

The Department for Work and Pensions has been working closely with HM Treasury on Our Plan for Jobs, which builds on and bolsters the existing support offered by our Job Centre Plus network.

Our initial proposals shared with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and later announced at the Summer Economic Statement on 8 July include:

- Providing enhanced work search support by doubling the number of work coaches in Jobcentre Plus before the end of the financial year

- Plans to introduce a new Kickstart Scheme in Great Britain, a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16-24 who are are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment.

- An Expanded Youth Offer which involves expanding and increase the intensive support offered by DWP in Great Britain to young jobseekers, to include all those aged 18-24 in the Intensive Work Search group in Universal Credit.

- Expansion of the Work and Health Programme to offer new support to those who lose their job as a result of COVID including introducing additional voluntary support for those on benefits that have been unemployed for more than 3 months.

- Plans to increase the funding for the Flexible Support Fund by £150 million including to increase the capacity of the Rapid Response Service. It will also provide local support to claimants by removing barriers to work such as travel expenses for attending interviews.

- Expanding Sector Based Work Academies directed at priority areas, e.g. construction, infrastructure and social care. The sector-based work academy scheme offers training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview to those ready to start a job.

- Job finding support service which involves providing £40 million to fund private sector capacity to introduce a job finding support service in Great Britain. This online, one-to-one service will help those who have been unemployed for less than three months to increase their chances of finding employment