Contributions
1,153 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDYouth UnemploymentI have a lot of respect for the right hon. Gentleman; I walk past his picture every morning. He was responsible for a major reform to the welfare system with the introduction of…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentI agree that “NEET” is not the best and most user-friendly term, but it has been used for some time. As for the hon. Lady’s question about what is devolved and what is UK-wide,…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentThe hon. Member raises an important point. The issue of youth inactivity does not start at the age of 16; it often starts well before that. The reforms to the SEND system…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentI warmly welcome the Chancellor’s support for this package and the help that she has given me in putting it together. The right hon. Lady mentioned vacancies—there are about…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentLet me return the greeting of a happy St Patrick’s day to my hon. Friend. My hon. Friend makes an absolutely vital point about information. When I talk to young people, they tell…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentTom Kerridge has achieved a great amount and done fantastic things. I was very pleased to meet him and talk to him about this package a few days ago, and I welcome his warm…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentI welcome the hon. Lady’s—somewhat limited—support for the announcement, but she is right that we need to support young people in the workplace. There is perhaps a touch of…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth UnemploymentMy hon. Friend is right. That ratio of 1:8 is too high, and it grew a lot in the last few years. She asks about discussions with young people, and she makes a really important…17 Mar 2026HANSARDYouth EmploymentAt the Budget, the Chancellor committed more than £1.5 billion to back young people through the youth guarantee and changes to the growth and skills levy. Today we are going even…16 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleThe hon. Lady makes a good point. When we look at the total number of NEETs, within that is what we might regard as standard unemployment cases, a lot of health, sickness and…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleThe hon. Gentleman will find that graduate unemployment is an international issue. If we want more non-higher education skills, he should support our plans to stop the decline…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleThe statistics for the second half of 2024 show the scale of the situation that we inherited from the previous Government. The number of young people not in education, employment…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleWe have a lot of dialogue with businesses about the nature of the growth and skills levy and how it is used. I have to say to the hon. Gentleman and to the House that we are…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleWe do want to support jobseekers now. As I said, there is a long-term challenge with youth unemployment, which we are responding to through the measures I have outlined. If we can…09 Mar 2026HANSARDYoung People and Work ReportMy hon. Friend brings valuable experience to this matter, including his experience of teaching engineering apprentices at the University of Nottingham. We are committed to…09 Mar 2026HANSARDYoung People and Work ReportThe right hon. Alan Milburn is making progress on his report. He brings valuable experience as a former Secretary of State for Health and former chair of the Government’s Social…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleThe truth is that the Conservatives presided over a huge post-covid rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training, and they did precisely nothing…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeoplePrecisely because we are tilting the funding more towards youth apprenticeship starts, we will arrest the decline that happened when the hon. Lady’s party were in power. Change…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSupport for NEET Young PeopleMy hon. Friend has spoken powerfully of how unemployment in her constituency has scarred generations. I assure her that the youth guarantee will become nationwide by the end of…09 Mar 2026HANSARDUnemployment: ScotlandThat is of course a hugely important industry for the UK. The hon. Member will be aware that a transition is taking place, but oil and gas will be part of the mix for a long time…09 Mar 2026