Contributions
1,153 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDGetting Britain Working AgainThat is precisely what we are doing, including by providing apprenticeship courses that are shorter than the usual eight-month minimum, because employers have told us that such…14 May 2026HANSARDGetting Britain Working AgainLet me read this out for the hon. Gentleman. The Leader of the Opposition said that the Government were “too scared to make foreign interventions”. She also said: “I say to Labour…14 May 2026HANSARDGetting Britain Working AgainI refer the hon. Gentleman to the figures that I just read out. For the first time in many years, the NHS is heading in the right direction. That is good for people’s health, and…14 May 2026HANSARDGetting Britain Working AgainI will outline the changes to the system that we are making. At the heart of it, we have to change the question that the system asks in order to have a system that is suited…14 May 2026HANSARDGetting Britain Working AgainI have to disappoint the hon. Lady. If this Government were responsible, it would not be case that youth employment never in a single year reached the pre-financial crash levels…14 May 2026HANSARDGetting Britain Working AgainI will proceed, if the hon. Lady does not mind. Unlike the Conservatives, who did nothing about the number of young people not in education, training or employment, we are doing…14 May 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the need for skills for house building. We support those skills through sector-based work academy programmes. Last year,…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsMy hon. Friend will know that when people complete an apprenticeship, their chances of employment are very high. I am pleased to report that apprenticeship achievement rates are…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsThe number of youth apprenticeship starts has fallen by 40% over the past decade. Because we want to give more young people the chance of apprenticeships, we are fully funding…27 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank my hon. Friend for being such a formidable champion for her constituency, and for opportunity within it. I would be very happy to talk with her further about this issue,…27 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank my hon. Friend and sing a song of praise for the Song School in Southend. He is absolutely right to draw attention to the importance of the creative industries. Our…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsMy hon. Friend is right to say that promoting apprenticeships must start in schools. Our brilliant apprenticeship ambassador network brings together about 3,000 employers and…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsI am always grateful for the work of the Social Security Advisory Committee, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question, but one thing that she missed out is that…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsMay I congratulate my hon. Friend on what sounds like a fantastic initiative? She puts her finger on something very important: sometimes people who narrowly lose out on a…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsWe always listen to representations that ask for more funding for many good causes. On the issue of construction, a specific construction sector skills package was announced last…27 Apr 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsI agree with the shadow Minister that work is the answer. As I said a moment ago, apprenticeship starts are up on the latest figures and apprenticeship achievement rates are up.…27 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI have discussed this subject a lot with hon. Members from right across the House, and the issue that the hon. Member raises about transport is raised quite a lot with me. It is…27 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI know that the Chair of the Select Committee cares deeply about health inequalities in this country, which, to be honest with the House, are deep seated and long term. As in many…27 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsYouth hubs are another part of the effort, and the advantage is that we can get the help that the jobcentre can give to where young people are in the community. This also means we…27 Apr 2026HANSARDStatutory Sick PayI believe my hon. Friend will welcome the changes the Government have made to statutory sick pay, which came into force earlier this month. For the first time ever, we have…27 Apr 2026