Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in rural areas provide apprenticeship schemes in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.
The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.
In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.
To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussion his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in providing apprenticeship schemes in rural areas.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.
The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.
In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.
To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the scope is of the combat edge human performance optimisation programme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Combat Edge Human Performance Optimisation Programme is a strategic initiative led by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to enhance the effectiveness of the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS). It represents a mindset shift in military aviation and aims to deliver aircrew who are mentally and physically prepared to operate in increasingly complex and contested environments.
The programme includes cutting-edge approaches to human performance and cognitive agility, including psychological resilience and human performance enhancements in relation to fitness, nutrition, and sleep.
It will maximise the use of technology enhanced learning, such as simulators and synthetics, as well as digital analysis. It draws on best practices from elite sport, academic research, and allied air forces to embed Psychological Skills Training, coaching and mentoring within UKMFTS.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support the roll-out of youth hubs in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 200 locations across Great Britain within the next three years to provide more accessible and joined-up employment support for young people. This investment ensures that young claimants, particularly those on Universal Credit, can access tailored employment and skills services in their local communities.
While employment and skills support remain central to the Youth Hubs offer, the expansion will also ensure a core minimum blueprint across all locations. This will connect young people to a wider range of services such as health, housing, and wellbeing support, based on local needs and partnerships.
Hexham and Newcastle are already served by Youth Hubs.
In Hexham, DWP works with the Northumberland Rural Employment Hub, which recently ran a successful session for 18–24-year-olds on job searching and CV building, with plans for future events.
In Newcastle, the Newcastle United Foundation Youth Hub provides tailored employability support, including job fairs, mentoring, and access to DWP systems. It serves a wide area and works with partners to address skills and employment barriers.
These hubs will continue to evolve and align with the Youth Hub blueprint, ensuring young people benefit from high-quality, locally tailored services.
Across Northumberland and the North East, DWP is planning to expand Youth Hubs in areas of highest need over the next two years.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on anti-violence education programmes in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a central priority for this Government. Reducing youth-related violence, including in the North East of England, will be critical to achieving this goal.
Home Office officials hold monthly discussions with the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) on delivery of early intervention and prevention programmes, including anti-violence education.
For 2025/26, Northumbria VRU has been allocated £2,140,937, including funding for a range of interventions. These include educational programmes for professionals to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime; active bystander training; and mentoring initiatives and sports programmes to provide positive engagement and help to steer young people away from violence.
The Home Office also engages regularly with a wider network of Violence Reduction Units and Serious Violence Duty partnerships in England to discuss their progress in embedding a public health approach to violence prevention.
The Home Office also meets regularly with Department for Education colleagues to discuss the inclusion of related issues in the curriculum.
As part of the updated Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, primary school pupils will learn how to manage relationship challenges and seek help when concerned about violence. At secondary level, the focus will be on developing social and emotional skills to avoid conflict, understanding the law on knives and violence, and knowing which trusted adults to approach.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help re-engage young people with education, health and care plans who are not in employment, education or training.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are 165,000 16 to 25 year-olds with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Of these, it is estimated that approximately 22,000 are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Published data for the reporting year 2025 shows that approximately 11% of 16 to 19 year-olds with EHC plans and 21% of 20 to 25 year-olds with EHC plans were NEET. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/da86f4d8-c536-4e7d-5ab8-08ddf5e2701a.
The department is acting to tackle the number of young people who are NEET.
The recently published post-16 education and skills white paper commits us to building a system that leaves no learner behind.
We are tackling NEETs by ensuring that every young person has access to education, training or support to move into work, backed by measures such as automatic college places for 16 year-olds without a post-16 plan, subsidised paid work placements, and a guaranteed job for those on Universal Credit unemployed for over 18 months.
The Youth Guarantee trailblazers are testing focused support for vulnerable groups such as care leavers, young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and those from alternative provision. This focused support includes mentoring, confidence building, coaching and financial management skills. This testing will inform the future roll out of the Youth Guarantee.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of young people with education, health and care plans who are not in employment, education or training.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are 165,000 16 to 25 year-olds with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Of these, it is estimated that approximately 22,000 are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Published data for the reporting year 2025 shows that approximately 11% of 16 to 19 year-olds with EHC plans and 21% of 20 to 25 year-olds with EHC plans were NEET. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/da86f4d8-c536-4e7d-5ab8-08ddf5e2701a.
The department is acting to tackle the number of young people who are NEET.
The recently published post-16 education and skills white paper commits us to building a system that leaves no learner behind.
We are tackling NEETs by ensuring that every young person has access to education, training or support to move into work, backed by measures such as automatic college places for 16 year-olds without a post-16 plan, subsidised paid work placements, and a guaranteed job for those on Universal Credit unemployed for over 18 months.
The Youth Guarantee trailblazers are testing focused support for vulnerable groups such as care leavers, young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and those from alternative provision. This focused support includes mentoring, confidence building, coaching and financial management skills. This testing will inform the future roll out of the Youth Guarantee.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available at age 18 to young people who were in care during early childhood before being (a) adopted or (b) placed under alternative permanency arrangements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Young people who were in care before being adopted or placed under a Special Guardianship Order or Care Arrangements Order remain eligible for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund until the age of 21, or 25 if they have an education, health and care plan.
Adopted individuals aged 18 and over also have the legal right to access their birth and adoption records. Support is available through local authorities and registered adoption agencies to help them understand their adoption history and, where appropriate, reconnect with birth relatives.
Additionally, some children with kinship foster carers are entitled to leaving care support. This includes support from a Personal Adviser up to the age of 25, and support to engage in education, employment or training. This also includes providing continuity of support and relationships through the Staying Put programme and investing in family-finding, mentoring and befriending programmes.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support young offenders identified as SEND.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not currently hold the requested data on the number of young offenders identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). However, in 2023 the Ministry of Justice introduced a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) which measures the proportion of children with identified SEND and whether they have a formal support plan in place. KPI data is intended to be published by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) after complete collection of 2025/26 data and ensuring quality standards are met.
The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education jointly hold a linked dataset - the MoJ DfE share - which may provide helpful context: Education, children's social care and offending. This analysis examines a cohort of children who were cautioned or sentenced for an offence between the ages of 10 and 17, comparing their education and social care characteristics, including whether they had ever been identified as having Special Educational Needs, with those of the wider pupil population.
The Ministry of Justice recognises the importance of SEND within the youth justice system and is committed to ensuring that children with SEND receive the right support to meet their individual needs and reduce reoffending.
Last year, this Government invested over £100 million for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) to deliver multi-agency support for young people, including those with SEND, who have offended or are at risk of offending. This included extending the Turnaround early intervention programme until March 2026. Turnaround supports children on the cusp of the justice system, via bespoke interventions including social and emotional support and mentoring. In the first year of delivery, to December 2023, 27% (2,214) of children who proceeded to a Turnaround assessment had a formally recognised SEND.
Moreover, the Ministry of Justice has funded training for youth solicitors, through the Youth Justice Legal Centre, to help them identify and respond to children’s individual needs, including communication difficulties. The Department also funds intermediaries to facilitate effective communication with children who have specialist communication needs in court.
To support inclusion, Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have Neurodiversity Support Managers, and public-run YOIs have qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinators and psychologists to meet the needs of children.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young offenders are identified as SEND.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not currently hold the requested data on the number of young offenders identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). However, in 2023 the Ministry of Justice introduced a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) which measures the proportion of children with identified SEND and whether they have a formal support plan in place. KPI data is intended to be published by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) after complete collection of 2025/26 data and ensuring quality standards are met.
The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education jointly hold a linked dataset - the MoJ DfE share - which may provide helpful context: Education, children's social care and offending. This analysis examines a cohort of children who were cautioned or sentenced for an offence between the ages of 10 and 17, comparing their education and social care characteristics, including whether they had ever been identified as having Special Educational Needs, with those of the wider pupil population.
The Ministry of Justice recognises the importance of SEND within the youth justice system and is committed to ensuring that children with SEND receive the right support to meet their individual needs and reduce reoffending.
Last year, this Government invested over £100 million for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) to deliver multi-agency support for young people, including those with SEND, who have offended or are at risk of offending. This included extending the Turnaround early intervention programme until March 2026. Turnaround supports children on the cusp of the justice system, via bespoke interventions including social and emotional support and mentoring. In the first year of delivery, to December 2023, 27% (2,214) of children who proceeded to a Turnaround assessment had a formally recognised SEND.
Moreover, the Ministry of Justice has funded training for youth solicitors, through the Youth Justice Legal Centre, to help them identify and respond to children’s individual needs, including communication difficulties. The Department also funds intermediaries to facilitate effective communication with children who have specialist communication needs in court.
To support inclusion, Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have Neurodiversity Support Managers, and public-run YOIs have qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinators and psychologists to meet the needs of children.