Pat McFadden

Getting Britain Working Again

I 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 when her party was in power. If this Government were responsible, we would not have seen the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training rise by a quarter of a million. Beyond the hiring bonuses and the youth hubs, we are offering more work experience or workplace training with a guaranteed in

Getting Britain Working Again

If it was down to those policies, we would not have seen a rise of a quarter of a million in the NEET—not in education, employment or training—numbers in the last three years of the hon. Lady’s party’s time in office. My point is that this did not come from nowhere, and we have to understand that. If we are to have a serious response, education, health treatment, youth apprenticeships and changes to the welfare system itself all have a part to play. On the health front, I have good news to repor

Getting Britain Working Again

I 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 better to the conditions of today. We should ask people not just what benefit they are entitled to, but how we can help them change their lives, and we have begun that task. The change to universal credit that came into force last month narrowed the gap between the health element and the standard element. Crucially, it is ma

Getting Britain Working Again

I 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 something about it, because we will not leave a young generation behind. We will not give up on young people, and that is why our youth guarantee is so important. It will invest £2.5 billion in support for young people and employers over the next few years. From June, there will be hiring bonuses of £3,000 for employers

Getting Britain Working Again

That 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 short courses are exactly what they need. I am all in favour of more flexibility in the apprenticeship system to suit what employers need. Getting Britain working is also about the levels of investment in the economy: it is about the roads and railways we build, the capital programmes in education and health, and the year

Getting Britain Working Again

Apprenticeships are really valuable and important. I visited construction apprentices with the Prime Minister just a couple of days ago, so I heartily endorse what the hon. Gentleman says. The issue of youth employment is really important to us because of the long-term consequences of young people staying on benefits. Let me illustrate this for the House. A young person under the age of 25 who is on the health element of universal credit is now less likely to get a job than someone over 55 on th

Getting Britain Working Again

I 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 it is also good for getting people back to work. As I said, the Conservatives show no understanding of how people end up on benefits in the first place. They are like a workman who wanders around someone’s house asking, “Who installed that?”, when the answer every time is that they installed it. The Conservatives say th

Getting Britain Working Again

Let 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 MPs that we are in this war whether they like it or not. What is the Prime Minister waiting for?”—[Official Report, 4 March 2026; Vol. 781, c. 803.] That is what she said. As for the leader of Reform, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), he said: “We should do all we can to support the operation. I make that per

Getting Britain Working Again

It is a pleasure to open today’s King’s Speech debate on behalf of the Government. As His Majesty said yesterday, we are living in “an increasingly dangerous and volatile world”. This debate is about the labour market, so let us start with some facts. We have 332,000 more people in work than a year ago; the third highest employment rate in the G7; unemployment lower than most OECD countries and lower than the EU average; unemployment down in the three months to February; and economic inactivity

Apprenticeships

We 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 year. It is aimed precisely at training the bricklayers, electricians and plumbers we need to meet our construction targets, not only in housing but in the many investment projects around the country that are being supported by this Government.

Apprenticeships

My 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 apprentices, who go into schools and colleges and share stories about how apprenticeships can transform young lives. Those ambassadors have now reached 97% of the state-funded secondary schools and colleges in England—nearly 3,500 in the past three years—but, for the reasons that my hon. Friend has given, we have got to do

Apprenticeships

I referred in my previous answer to the step I am taking, which is to put in place a £2,000 hiring incentive for small businesses taking up a new apprentice. If it is someone who has been unemployed and on universal credit for six months, there is the potential for an additional £3,000 hiring incentive on top of the £2,000. We want to incentivise small businesses to take on apprentices, for reasons that I think are shared right across the House and because of the great opportunities that they en

Apprenticeships

May 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 particular apprenticeship could benefit from one elsewhere. I did refer to the work that we are doing to try to improve the information, and the initiative she has taken is a great example of what can be done. Just because people do not get their first choice should not mean that they lose out on the opportunity of an apprentic

Apprenticeships

I 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 apprenticeships are paid, so a young person taking up an apprenticeship opportunity will be earning money that contributes to the family’s income. We have to take that into account, as well as all the other sources of the family’s income.

Apprenticeships

My 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 up in the latest figures, as are the apprenticeship start numbers.

Apprenticeships

I 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. The reforms that we are putting in place will mean more youth apprenticeship starts, and that is where the money should be directed, because that is where the need is greatest.

Apprenticeships

It is important to remember that apprenticeships are paid and that the people undergoing them get a wage. When we are considering the overall economic impact on a family’s income, we have to take that into account. Frankly, if the hon. Member pushes me and asks me whether it is better for that income to come from benefits or the constructive work of an apprenticeship, I know which one I would pick.

Topical Questions

Since our last DWP oral questions, I have updated the House on the expansion of our youth employment offer, I have been to an excellent job fair in Glasgow, I have said that the latest unemployment figures show a fall, and last week I went back to university—it was the McDonald’s Hamburger University. My Big Mac was not perfect, but I welcome McDonald’s as the latest employer to support our youth guarantee. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability has said that the “r

Topical Questions

The policies that I am advocating are creating opportunity for young people, through offering employers hiring incentives, through promoting youth apprenticeship starts and through the other initiatives that we have set out. We do this because we agree that work is the best answer for young people, and I want to do everything I can to make sure that they have the maximum chance to get work.

Topical Questions

Youth 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 can get help to people who are not necessarily signing on for benefits but who are looking for work, and it enables us to give a more flexible response across different services. We hope to expand these hubs to more than 360 locations, where they will be open to all 16 to 24-year-olds, whether or not they are on benefi

Topical Questions

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.

Unemployment

The latest unemployment figures published last week show a fall to 4.9% in February, which I am sure the whole House will welcome. Along with growth figures of 0.5% earlier this year, that is more evidence that the economy was heading in the right direction at the beginning of the year. But I have to warn the House that external effects caused by the war in Iran and the rise in energy prices may affect jobs as well as prices in the coming months.

Unemployment

I recently joined a successful jobs fair close to the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, where the industries that he mentioned were hiring more people—it was one of the most successful such events that we have seen. I hope that he will welcome the fact that 330,000 more people are in work this year than at this time last year. When it comes to young people, he will of course know that there is a national insurance exemption for employees under 21.

Unemployment

My hon. Friend will know that the number of young people not in education, employment or training rose by about a quarter of a million in the last three years of the Conservative party’s time in power, but that Government did nothing about it. We are putting in place a youth guarantee that offers training, work experience, subsidised employment and hiring incentives to small and medium-sized employers for both regular jobs and apprenticeships. That is all part of the effort to make sure that you

Unemployment

The hon. Lady neglected to mention that youth unemployment never recovered to levels enjoyed under the last Labour Government at any point during the Conservative party’s time in power; it was exacerbated during their last few years in particular. The difference is that we are responding with the initiatives that I have set before the House today. That is because we believe that work is the best answer and the best opportunity for young people. I will keep going, to give young people hope and op

Topical Questions

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 sur

Topical Questions

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.

Topical Questions

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.

Topical Questions

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.

Topical Questions

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.

Topical Questions

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 sect

Topical Questions

I thank my hon. Friend for a very good question. Here is another fact the shadow Secretary of State may not welcome: the truth is that before the pandemic, face-to-face interviews were the norm and after that, the numbers collapsed. Not only that, the previous Government signed off a new set of long-term contracts allowing most of the assessors to work from home, just a year before the general election. We are now increasing face-to-face interviews to provide a proper balance in the functional a

Topical Questions

My hon. Friend is right that we need everyone—not just central Government—to be involved. I would like local authorities, businesses—all of us—to see the youth opportunity challenge as a national endeavour worthy of all our support. I am happy to work with her local authority to try to make it as successful as possible.

Topical Questions

The shadow Secretary of State said that she wanted some facts, so let me give her some facts. The Tories inherited spending on defence at 2.5% of GDP; they left office with it lower. They left the Army at its smallest in two centuries, and they cut the number of frigates and destroyers by 25%. It is the Labour Government who are increasing expenditure on defence. It is the Labour Government who are reforming welfare, including the changes in universal credit this month, and the youth employment

Topical Questions

The Conservative party failed to reform welfare and failed to back our defence forces—it left the armed forces at their smallest size since Napoleonic times—and it says that there is a choice. The truth is, the Conservatives did neither of those things; we are doing both. We are increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP—something they never achieved, despite inheriting that level from us when they took office—and we are reforming welfare by putting work and opportunity at the heart of everythin

Topical Questions

I am happy to ensure that the hon. Member gets a meeting with a Minister from the Department to discuss his constituent’s case.

Statutory Sick Pay

I believe that removing the three-day limit and giving access to statutory sick pay from day one, as well as making it available to those who work for multiple employers, should decrease the pressure on workers to have to work through illness. My hon. Friend will be aware that the “Keep Britain Working” review led by Charlie Mayfield also aims to work with employers to help keep people in jobs while they cope with some of the long-term sickness issues that can develop as workers get older.

Statutory Sick Pay

I 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 removed the lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay, as well as the waiting period so that people can access sick pay as soon as they need it. These changes will mean that up to 1.3 million more people will be covered, helping the low paid and those who work for more than one employer in particular.

Apprenticeships

The 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 youth apprenticeships for small businesses, introducing a £2,000 hiring incentive for non-levy-paying employers, and expanding foundation apprenticeships in hospitality and retail. All that is aimed at more opportunity and more work for young people.

Topical Questions

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.

Topical Questions

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.