Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to introduce new targeted measures to reduce long-term not in employment, education, or training rates among 18–24-year-olds.

The Government’s plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.

As a first step, we are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers across England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities. We will use the learning from these Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain.

In addition, the Government is investing £25 million to expand Youth Hubs, which bring together employment support from a Jobcentre work coach and place-based support fromlocal partnerships to help young NEET people into work. This investment will almost double the number of Youth Hubs to over 200 across England, Scotland and Wales over the next three years, ensuring more young people can access personalised, wraparound support in their local communities.

The Chancellor has also announced that every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment. The scheme forms part of the government’s aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. Further details including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at Budget.

The above builds on existing DWP labour market support for 16-24-year-olds through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level as part of the Youth Offer. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.