YouSaid · the spoken record
Pat McFadden
Lines from Political Thinking with Nick Robinson have been withdrawn from this page while we check who is speaking. See the correction.
On the record 2005–2026
hansard
This is everything the corpus holds for Pat McFadden. It is not everything they have said on the record.
Every line below is reproduced as it was said and credited to the record it came from, and links to that record wherever it can be linked. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections
“I 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 important, and I am willing to look at anything that I can do on that front to help people take up available opportunities. We need to bring everything together to give young people the maximum employment opportunities.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My 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, the Government announced a £625 million construction skills package, in order to recruit 60,000 workers by 2029 to all the trades that we need for building and the other physical investment projects that the Government are supporting around the country.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I 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 creative industries sector plan provides £380 million of targeted investment, and, as part of the work on the youth guarantee, I was pleased to meet the film and TV industries at Pinewood Studios in January of this year to talk more about the opportunities that they offer young people in our fantastic creative industries sector.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I 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 areas of our work, I believe that constructive and productive employment is a big part of the answer in tackling inequality and prosperity issues right around the country.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I 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, but I point out that skills and apprenticeships are devolved in Scotland. The Scottish Government have received a record financial settlement—the greatest since devolution began—and I hope that opportunity for young people is part of their agenda.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know that responding to hon. Members’ inquiries—be they direct or on behalf of their constituents —is very important. I raise that with the Department constantly. If the hon. Gentleman sends me more details of the constituents in question, I will ensure that their cases are looked at right away.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know, because my constituency is not too far away, that advanced manufacturing is in the DNA of Staffordshire, so I warmly welcome what my hon. Friend said about her local college, and I will make sure that she gets a meeting with someone from the Department.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are promoting apprenticeships for young people in particular through the way that we prioritise the funding in the apprenticeship levy, and we are putting in place hiring incentives of £2,000 for small businesses that want to take on an apprentice. For small and medium-sized businesses, we will also fully fund the cost of apprenticeships for under-25s, because I agree with the hon. Gentleman that apprenticeships are a great opportunity for young people, and I want to do what I can to make sure that young people get more chances to avail themselves of those opportunities.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I have said a few times today, I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with a Minister. I congratulate him on speaking up for his area and the workers within it.”
House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“However, a particular and long-term issue faces the young, and it is time that young people were offered more hope and opportunity. That is what the package that we are bringing forward will do. At almost 1 million, the number of young people not in education, employment or training is much too high. The Conservatives try to claim that that is all a result of decisions taken over the past two years—”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I would like to make a statement on our new package of support to tackle the long-term problem of youth unemployment. Let me begin by wishing you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and the whole House a very happy St Patrick’s day. This year, due to Lenten abstinence, I will toast it with Guinness zero—one of the world’s great inventions. The UK has historically high levels of employment overall. In its most recent report, the Office for Budget Responsibility said that employment would rise in every year of the forecast from 2026, and that unemployment would peak this year and fall in every year of the forecast after that. In fact, in only two of the last 150 peacetime years was the employment rate higher than it was in 2025.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Putting work and opportunity at the heart of our system is the best reform we can make. Asking not just, “What are you entitled to?” but “How can we help you change your life?” is the change that the system needs. That view lies behind the changes that I am announcing in this package. I commend the statement to the House.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They need our help, and we cannot afford to lose their talent and energy. This is about not just young people, but their parents and grandparents. This is a generational challenge, because who does not want their child or grandchild to have a better chance in life? That is why investment in the young is a bond between the generations. It is an act of solidarity that is in the interests of the whole country, because if a young person has prolonged periods out of work, the scarring effects can stay with them for the rest of their life. A young person under the age of 25 on the health element of universal credit is now less likely to get a job than someone over 55 on the same benefit. We have to act to change that. I am often asked, “So when will you do welfare reform?” Well, I tell the House that this is welfare reform.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the comments by the Federation of Small Businesses, which said that the provision is a “game-changer” and “a decisive step forward”, and rightly describes the package as “pro-jobs, pro-opportunities”. The package has also been welcomed by large employers such as Amazon, Kier Group and PwC, and the welcome goes beyond business. We know that a lot of young people face challenges in the labour market, and the chief executive of Mental Health UK, Brian Dow, said that the package “will support young people to be ready for work and help organisations large and small to capitalise on the skills, talents and enthusiasm that young people have to offer.” As well as the package, there is an urgent need to offer help to young people, given technological and demographic change.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Altogether, this will create 200,000 job and apprenticeship opportunities over the next three years. This is our new deal for new times, offering new hope to the young people who are so often disparaged by the Conservatives as shirkers and scroungers. Our message is different: “We back you, we believe in you and we want you to succeed.” The package that I have announced is new investment of about £1 billion, and it comes on top of the funding that we announced at the Budget. Taken together, it is a package of support for young people worth about £2.5 billion. The existing exemption from employer national insurance contributions for workers under 21 will stay in place. This package is not just pro young people; it is pro business.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“What a contrast with the Conservatives’ record on apprenticeships, which was to take opportunity away from young people— [ Interruption. ] They don’t like to hear it, but I am going to continue! We are introducing new foundation apprenticeships in retail and hospitality, and new short courses in AI, electric vehicle charging point installation, electrical fitting and assembly, mechanical fitting and assembly, modular building, solar photovoltaic installation, and welding—the skills that young people need for the future. On top of that, the jobs guarantee, which we previously announced for the long-term unemployed, will be extended to those aged 22 to 24. Those young people will get six months of paid work, at 25 hours per week paid on minimum wage rates.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have already announced a youth guarantee to help the young unemployed. It involves intensive work coaching, 300,000 work experience and training places, and subsidised work for long-term unemployed people aged 18 to 21. However, we will now go much further, with an explicitly pro young people package, aimed at helping them to learn and earn. From this summer, we will introduce hiring bonuses for businesses that hire a young person who has been out of work for six months. The bonus will be worth £3,000 per young person. There will also be bonuses of £2,000 for small and medium-sized businesses that hire young apprentices. Both bonuses can be combined if the young person hired has been out of work for six months or more.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In fact, we can hear them claiming it right now. But the truth is that the number of young people not in education, employment or training rose by 250,000 in the three years running up to the last election, and the Conservatives did precisely nothing about it. Youth unemployment has been rising since 2022, and youth employment never reached pre financial crash levels in any single year of the Conservatives’ 14 years in power. On top of that, the Conservatives kicked away the ladder of opportunity from young people when they presided over a shocking 40% fall in youth apprenticeship starts over the past decade. The problem is long term and deep rooted. We will back young people with more youth apprenticeships, more chance of getting a job, and more help in overcoming the challenges they face.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Lady explain the number of NEETs rising by a quarter of a million in the last three years in which they were in power? How does she explain their lack of action to deal with it? When it comes to welfare, what I have said today is very clear and simple: the best means of welfare reform is to put work and opportunity at the heart of the system, and that is what we are doing with this plan.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They will have heard her dismiss our changes, which will boost youth apprenticeships. They will have heard her pretend that we can somehow wish all this away with tax changes. That proves that the Conservatives have learned nothing from their disastrous management of the economy. They will have heard her say that the package does not offer young people anything, when we have announced a plan to give them a new deal with more jobs and more apprenticeships. That is the difference between our approach and theirs. I want to give young people in this country opportunities to get skills, to get a job, to get off benefits and to build a better life for themselves. That is much better than kicking the ladder away and leaving the system unchanged, which is what the Conservatives did. How does the hon.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I fear that the hon. Lady’s response was written without her listening to a word in the statement. She has confirmed that the Conservative party not only bequeathed us the problem, but has learned nothing about how to tackle it. There was no statement of responsibility, no statement of regret and no apology for the record on youth apprenticeships—in fact, she defended cutting youth apprenticeship starts. It is a continued pretence that somehow all of this started just two years ago. The hon. Lady asks where the funding to help young people comes from. It comes from stable management of the economy—something that the Conservatives know nothing about and that we have practised for the past two years. Young people, at whom all of this is aimed, will have heard her disparage efforts to get them into work and to give them more opportunity.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend says that young people deserve support; I believe that with the right support, young people want to work and to make the most of their life. He asked how people in his constituency would be helped. They could be helped through the hiring incentives that I have announced, and through the hiring bonuses that will allow small and medium-sized businesses to hire a young apprentice. The young unemployed in his constituency will be helped, because we are offering hope, ensuring that they get a chance, and offering the sense of pride, purpose and dignity that comes with having a job.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think that many people would be surprised to hear that in some years, most apprenticeship expenditure has gone on those over the age of 25 who are already in work. We have made a choice; we have chosen young people, and for good reasons. We have chosen them because of the scarring effects of youth unemployment, which I mentioned in my statement, and we now have on record that both the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats are opposed to our prioritisation of young people.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Gentleman opposes the changes that we made to national insurance, but he neglects to mention that employer national insurance contributions are not required for employees under the age of 21, unless they are earning more than £50,000 a year. He opposes those changes while supporting extra expenditure on the NHS. As I have said to him a few times, if his party supports extra expenditure, it really has to support revenue-raising measures to fund it. Young people will have heard the hon. Gentleman dismiss the changes that I have set out today; in fact, they will have heard him say that if he was asked to choose between management courses and young people, he would choose management courses—that is now the established position of the Liberal Democrats.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend asks about disabled young people. It is really important that we get more help and support to disabled people who, in the past, were too often signed off, written off and forgotten about. That is not good enough for them or for the country as a whole. The Connect to Work programme, which is devolved to elected mayors and local authorities, is helping disabled people, and the WorkWell programme seeks to get over the divide between health advice and employment advice. She is right that there are issues with the Access to Work programme. It is a really good programme, but there is a backlog that I want to see reduced because it is an important programme that helps disabled people to get into work and stay in work.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the hon. Lady’s welcome of the youth guarantee. Perhaps she might have a word with her hon. Friend the shadow Minister, who did not welcome it. She asks about national insurance, but the problem is not new—what is new is the package of help for young people that I have announced today.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome my hon. Friend’s question and her praise for the great city of Newcastle, which I am sure we would all echo. On small and medium-sized businesses, she is right that we need to ensure that the systems are as easy to use as possible. There is a real direction of help in the package to small and medium-sized businesses, particularly with the hiring bonus for young apprentices. That is perhaps why the Federation of Small Businesses has described this programme as a “game changer” and a “decisive step forward.””
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman’s description of this statement will do me good or harm among my right hon. and hon. Friends, but once again he makes the mistake of assuming that this problem is something that happened only in the last 18 months, which is where the Conservative party is going wrong. It is a long-term and deep-rooted problem. We need a different approach to tackle it, and that is why we need to offer hiring bonuses to businesses and to redirect the apprenticeship system to help young people, precisely because of the long-term scarring effects of young people being out of a job for any length of time. That can mean worse mental and physical health and, in some cases, even lower life expectancy than their peers in work. We have brought forward this package of measures today because of our concerns about that.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We heard the Conservatives defend the 40% figure on the drop in youth apprenticeship starts—that is on the record. If they want to defend and own that record, so be it, but we want to prioritise opportunities for young people, and that is what we are doing with this package. There is a lot in it for employers in Burnley and for small and medium-sized businesses, which now have a new financial incentive to give a young person the vital start in life that can set them on a path of pride, purpose and dignity. That is what having a job gives you.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Once again, the Liberal Democrats speak against the prioritisation of youth. We are for training throughout the system and throughout the age range, but we have to make a decision about where to prioritise it with a public budget. I have unashamedly made the decision to prioritise young people, and I think that is the right thing to do.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Let 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 me that when they are at school, there is a lot of information about how to apply for a university course. That is great, and it is a great route for young people, but the information on how to apply for an apprenticeship is not as clear; it is not readily available to them or as much a part of the preparation process that many schools put young people through. There is a job of work to be done on information, because we want the clearest, most user-friendly information possible to be available to young people and their parents when making such a vital decision about their future.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This is a deep-rooted, long-term problem, and we need new answers to it. That is why I have brought forward this package today.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I 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 universal credit, but after that his party stopped reforming the system. We are seeing the costs of that, particularly with what has happened in the last few years. On the Work programme, I am happy to look at any successful programme to help people into work. We have more than one of these programmes in the Department, and they should all be evaluated. The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point; we need to get support to people to overcome the barriers to get into work. With regard to national insurance, as I have said, all these things are costs for business, but this is not a new problem.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My 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 point. When I talk to young people, they tell me that they want to work and make the most of themselves; they just need a platform that will help them. In every part of the programme that we have brought forward today, whether it is the apprenticeship changes, the help for the long-term unemployed, the short apprenticeship courses or the hiring bonus, the motivation that I have had is to give young people a platform on which to stand and take the next step in their lives.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The 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 announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education very recently are really important in that regard, and we want the maximum opportunity for people. The last thing that we want is for people with special educational needs to be written off from the labour market; there has been too much of that in the past. Part of the package that I have outlined today is not about helping people into work then forgetting about them, but about supporting them once they are in a job so that we can get job retention and give young people the maximum chance of success.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question—I know that he takes a deep interest in this issue. There is an urgent need to help young people with the technological change that is taking place in the labour market. That is not just a British phenomenon; graduate unemployment in the United States went up from 5.3% to 5.7% in the final quarter of last year, and youth unemployment in the United States reached a four-year high last summer. We have to be less insular in our debate and understand that young people face particular challenges. That is why, for example, the different apprenticeship courses that I outlined in my statement are really important. They will train young people to cope with a different technological environment and ensure that we give them the maximum chance of success.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The OBR predicts that unemployment will peak this year and then fall in every year of the forecast— [ Interruption. ] Conservative Members disparage the forecast, but I gently remind them that disparaging the OBR did not work out too well for them a few years ago. In fact—to make a more serious point—the country is still paying the price for the fact that they did so, so I suggest that they learn that lesson.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for his deep interest in this issue. I have visited his constituency, and I give a warm welcome to the apprentices from Peterborough who are in the Chamber today. He asked about supply chains and small and medium-sized businesses. Those businesses will benefit from the hiring bonus for a young apprentice, which is why the Federation of Small Businesses has welcomed this package, describing it as a “game changer” and a “decisive step forward”.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I 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 700,000 vacancies in the economy, including 50,000 in manufacturing. I attended a jobs fair in Blackpool a couple of weeks ago, where almost 1,000 jobs were allocated on the day. There are vacancies in the economy, but we have to help young people to be in a position to be trained and have the confidence, skills and support they need to take them up.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Let me praise the magnificent industries in the Derby area, many of them manufacturing companies. As I said, there are 50,000 vacancies in manufacturing right now. What the trade bodies tell me is that they need help with skilling young people to take up those vacancies. That is precisely what will be made easier by the package that we have brought forward today.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The rate of young people not in education, employment or training is, I believe, even higher in Scotland than it is in the UK as a whole. The hon. Member asks for more information on timescales. The hiring bonuses, for example, will be introduced from this summer, and the apprenticeship changes will be introduced from later this year.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for the enormous amount of work that he put into organising the successful Blackpool jobs fair, which I attended a few weeks ago. He is right that the evidence from that jobs fair is that the vacancies are there, with more than 1,000 jobs allocated on the day of the jobs fair itself. Hospitality is a great entry route for young people. We have announced a foundation apprenticeship in hospitality as part of this process, and I hope that extends opportunity to other young people, similar to the opportunities that he had when he was a young man.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the right hon. Member knows, I have great respect for him. I am happy to reach out to upReach to speak about the work to which he refers. As I said a moment ago in response to another question, graduate unemployment is an international issue, not just one for the UK. There has also been an uplift in the United States, which we think of as possibly among the most dynamic economies in the world. Precisely because there is technological change, we need to help young people and support them through it. Policy has to catch up with the discussion taking place among young people themselves, because they are very alive to this issue, and they are evaluating their employment choices in terms of what they think will happen in the labour market and which jobs will be sustainable through this period of significant technological change.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the record of the last Labour Government. I have described this as a new deal for new times, and it does adapt some of the lessons that we have learnt in the past to today’s very changed labour market. She mentioned the importance of locally-led work. It is true that local labour markets differ, and I want to work closely with local authorities and elected mayors on this agenda, because I think that they all want the best for the young people in their area. The Connect to Work budget, for example, is devolved for the next few years, with considerable flexibility for local leaders in relation to how they use the funding.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I 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, the hiring bonus will apply throughout the UK, but the apprenticeship aspects are devolved to Wales.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think that the statement offers hope to young people throughout the United Kingdom. I look forward to a positive and close working relationship between the UK and Welsh Governments on this issue, because I believe that both Governments share a desire for young people, in Clwyd North and everywhere else in the country, to have the best start in life. I think that, for example, the £3,000 hiring bonus and the jobs guarantee for the long-term youth unemployed, which are UK-wide initiatives, can help people in my hon. Friend’s constituency and offer hope that there is a solution to the scarring effect of leaving young people to fester in long-term unemployment, which is not good for them and not good for the country either. [ Official Report , 25 March 2026; Vol. 783, c. 3WC.] (Correction)”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady refers to national insurance. As I have said, there is an existing tax break for employers of people under the age of 21 in the system, and they will continue to have that, but in addition they will have the hiring bonuses that I outlined in the statement. When we bring those things together, it sends a message that we want to help employers to employ young people and give them a good chance in life.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is right. Let me repeat what he said, so that the whole House hears it: when the Conservative party was in power, there was not a single year in which youth employment reached the levels that there had been before the financial crash. Perhaps no other figure shows what a long-term problem this is. It is right that we have targeted support to enable young people not just to earn a wage, but to get the sense of pride and dignity that comes with having a job. I do not want to bombard the House with too many statistics, but another shocking one is that more than half the young people who are not in education, employment or training have never had a job in their life. They have never experienced the sense of discipline, obligation and pride that comes with getting up and going to work in the morning.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Youth unemployment has been going up since 2022—it has been going up for around four years. What we have not had is a specific package to tackle it, but that changes with the package that I have announced today, which will offer real hope and opportunity to young people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. My gentle advice to him is to go and make the most of this package. That is what he should do for the young people in his constituency.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is right: there is a particular challenge for young carers. A significant proportion of the 1 million young people who are not in education, employment or training have caring responsibilities. I commend the work of Shipley college, and I am very happy to keep talking to her about this issue to see what help we can give to young carers.”
House of Commons17 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗