Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by The Prince's Trust and LADbible Gen Z: Redefining Dream Jobs, published on 19 September; in particular, the finding that 57 per cent of young people surveyed had lowered their long-term aspirations over the last two years due to concerns about mental health and the increased cost of living.

Whilst we are yet to make a detailed assessment of this specific report, the Department for Work and Pensions recognises the value of research and insight from key stakeholders including The Prince’s Trust to enable us to better understand the challenges faced by young people and the impact this has on their behaviour and motivations. We consider a broad range of perspectives when designing polices to better support young people, ranging from our regular engagement with youth stakeholder organisations like The Prince’s Trust and Youth Employment Group, to the Department’s own commissioned research and regularly speaking directly with young people themselves.

The Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support for 16-24-year olds on Universal Credit to help them find work. Eligibility for the Youth Offer has, as of the 25^th September 2023, been expanded to include young people on Universal Credit who are not currently searching for work, including young parents and carers. This means that an additional 33,500 young people will be able to access the Youth Offer in order to progress in employment.