Ministerial statement on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, in the House of Commons, led by Pat McFadden.

Youth Unemployment

Statement on the Government's new package of support to tackle the long-term problem of youth unemployment.

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 782 cc789-808
Session: 2024-26
Department: Department for Work and Pensions
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Sole Traders: VAT
Thursday, 19 March 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions: Pat McFadden | 782 c789 (Link to this contribution)
I would like to make a statement on our new package of support to tackle the long-term problem of...; Wendy Morton | 782 c789 (Link to this contribution)
It is!; Pat McFadden | 782 cc789-790 (Link to this contribution)
In fact, we can hear them claiming it right now. But the truth is that the number of young people...; Caroline Nokes | 782 c790 (Link to this contribution)
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
3.1 pm; Helen Whately | 782 cc791-2 (Link to this contribution)
The Government have lost control of welfare. The benefits bill is ballooning. Sickness benefits a...; Pat McFadden | 782 c792 (Link to this contribution)
I fear that the hon. Lady’s response was written without her listening to a word in the statement...; David Baines | 782 c792 (Link to this contribution)
Young people are often unfairly criticised, but it is worth remembering that the vast majority of...; Pat McFadden | 782 c793 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend says that young people deserve support; I believe that with the right support, you...; Caroline Nokes | 782 c788 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.; Steve Darling | 782 c788 (Link to this contribution)
The Secretary of State is correct to suggest that the Government inherited a crisis around youth ...; Pat McFadden | 782 cc788-794 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman opposes the changes that we made to national insurance, but he neglects to men...; Rushanara Ali | 782 c794 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome this excellent initiative, with the backing of £2.5 billion of investment, and I commen...; Pat McFadden | 782 c794 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend asks about disabled young people. It is really important that we get more help and...; Joy Morrissey | 782 c794 (Link to this contribution)
The national insurance tax rise and the upcoming implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025...; Pat McFadden | 782 c794 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the hon. Lady’s welcome of the youth guarantee. Perhaps she might have a word with her ...; Catherine McKinnell | 782 c795 (Link to this contribution)
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. As co-chair of the...; Pat McFadden | 782 c789 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome my hon. Friend’s question and her praise for the great city of Newcastle, which I am su...; Peter Bedford | 782 c789 (Link to this contribution)
This is a socialist economic statement. If it moves, the Government tax it; if it keeps moving, t...; Pat McFadden | 782 c790 (Link to this contribution)
I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman’s description of this statement will do me good or harm ...; Oliver Ryan | 782 c792 (Link to this contribution)
I am glad to hear that the employer NI exemption for staff under the age of 21 is staying in plac...; Pat McFadden | 782 c792 (Link to this contribution)
We heard the Conservatives defend the 40% figure on the drop in youth apprenticeship starts—that ...; John Milne | 782 c796 (Link to this contribution)
The Government want to cut funding for level 7 apprenticeships and redirect resources to younger ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c796 (Link to this contribution)
Once again, the Liberal Democrats speak against the prioritisation of youth. We are for training ...; Jim McMahon | 782 c796 (Link to this contribution)
Happy St Patrick’s day to the House and to all across the country.
The Secretary of State i...; Pat McFadden | 782 c794 (Link to this contribution)
Let me return the greeting of a happy St Patrick’s day to my hon. Friend.
My hon. Friend ma...; Iain Duncan Smith | 782 cc794-7 (Link to this contribution)
I have known the Secretary of State for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for him and for ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c797 (Link to this contribution)
I have a lot of respect for the right hon. Gentleman; I walk past his picture every morning. He w...; Rosie Wrighting | 782 c797 (Link to this contribution)
My generation has faced deep generational inequalities over the last decade. That did not happen ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c795 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is right. That ratio of 1:8 is too high, and it grew a lot in the last few years. ...; Adam Dance | 782 c795 (Link to this contribution)
People with special educational needs and disabilities are more likely not to be in employment or...; Pat McFadden | 782 c798 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member raises an important point. The issue of youth inactivity does not start at the ag...; Dan Carden | 782 c798 (Link to this contribution)
The number of young people not in education, employment or training hitting 1 million follows a t...; Pat McFadden | 782 c798 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend for his question—I know that he takes a deep interest in this issue. There...; Simon Hoare | 782 c796 (Link to this contribution)
It frankly beggars belief that the Secretary of State does not understand the impact that the Gov...; Pat McFadden | 782 c796 (Link to this contribution)
The OBR predicts that unemployment will peak this year and then fall in every year of the forecas...; Andrew Pakes | 782 c799 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my right hon. Friend for the care and consideration he has shown in putting this package ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c799 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend for his deep interest in this issue. I have visited his constituency, and ...; Wendy Morton | 782 c797 (Link to this contribution)
For this scheme to work, we need vacancies for young people, yet we have a Government who are squ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c797 (Link to this contribution)
I warmly welcome the Chancellor’s support for this package and the help that she has given me in ...; Catherine Atkinson | 782 c797 (Link to this contribution)
Having seen the 40% fall in youth apprenticeships over the past decade and the long-term trend of...; Pat McFadden | 782 c797 (Link to this contribution)
Let me praise the magnificent industries in the Derby area, many of them manufacturing companies....; Kirsty Blackman | 782 c800 (Link to this contribution)
I am not interested in discussing how we got to this point; we all need to work together to ensur...; Pat McFadden | 782 c800 (Link to this contribution)
The rate of young people not in education, employment or training is, I believe, even higher in S...; Chris Webb | 782 c800 (Link to this contribution)
I start by thanking my right hon. Friend for joining me at my jobs fair a few weeks ago, where mo...; Pat McFadden | 782 c800 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend for the enormous amount of work that he put into organising the successful...; John Glen | 782 c799 (Link to this contribution)
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I share the concer...; Pat McFadden | 782 c801 (Link to this contribution)
As the right hon. Member knows, I have great respect for him. I am happy to reach out to upReach ...; Sarah Smith | 782 c801 (Link to this contribution)
Before being elected to this place, I spent many years working for charities seeking to tackle th...; Pat McFadden | 782 c801 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the record of the last Labour Government. I have ...; Ann Davies | 782 c801 (Link to this contribution)
Measures to support about 17% of our young people in Wales who are not in education, employment o...; Pat McFadden | 782 c801 (Link to this contribution)
I agree that “NEET” is not the best and most user-friendly term, but it has been used for some ti...; Gill German | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
One of my main priorities as an MP is to ensure that we see more of our young people in good, ful...; Pat McFadden | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
I think that the statement offers hope to young people throughout the United Kingdom. I look forw...; Rebecca Paul | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
I think we can all agree that tackling the rise in youth employment is very important, but I am c...; Pat McFadden | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady refers to national insurance. As I have said, there is an existing tax break for em...; Patrick Hurley | 782 c801 (Link to this contribution)
Under the previous Government, as the Secretary of State mentioned in his statement, youth employ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c803 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is right. Let me repeat what he said, so that the whole House hears it: when the C...; Charlie Dewhirst | 782 c803 (Link to this contribution)
The Chancellor has spent the last 18 months pricing young people out of jobs, and now the Secreta...; Pat McFadden | 782 c803 (Link to this contribution)
Youth unemployment has been going up since 2022—it has been going up for around four years. What ...; Anna Dixon | 782 c803 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the support for small and medium-sized enterprises in my Shipley constituency, which wi...; Pat McFadden | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is right: there is a particular challenge for young carers. A significant proporti...; Shockat Adam | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
Like the rest of the nation, my constituency of Leicester South struggles with youth unemployment...; Pat McFadden | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
It will apply to young people between the ages of 18 and 24. The hiring bonus will be available f...; Luke Charters | 782 c802 (Link to this contribution)
Apprenticeship starts fell under the last Government, largely driven by the reduced uptake from S...; Pat McFadden | 782 c804 (Link to this contribution)
I think employers want to do the right thing—they want to give young people a chance. My hon. Fri...; Ben Obese-Jecty | 782 c804 (Link to this contribution)
I was lucky enough to get my first job when I was 16—washing up in a kitchen as well as working i...; Pat McFadden | 782 c804 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member mentioned his career in washing up, and let me tell him that we have that in comm...; Josh Dean | 782 c804 (Link to this contribution)
I really welcome this Government’s investment in our young people’s futures, but almost half of N...; Pat McFadden | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend makes the very important point that a significant proportion of the 1 million youn...; Lincoln Jopp | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a student roundtable, with two pupils from my eight secondary sch...; Pat McFadden | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
These short courses or apprenticeship units are something that employers have called for. Until n...; Richard Baker | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. This is exactly the kind of initiative to...; Pat McFadden | 782 c804 (Link to this contribution)
Yes, of course. I want to work with the Scotland Office, the Scottish Government and anyone who c...; Ayoub Khan | 782 c806 (Link to this contribution)
Across the west midlands, around 29,000 young people are unemployed, with unemployment rates in p...; Pat McFadden | 782 c806 (Link to this contribution)
Obviously, I know the west midlands well and I know the passion that our Mayor, Richard Parker, h...; John Grady | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
Glasgow has many brilliant young people who just want to work. They have been let down by the Tor...; Pat McFadden | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
I do not need any convincing about how great a city Glasgow is, and I will be going there very so...; Liz Jarvis | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
The managing director of G. W. Martin, a manufacturing firm based in my constituency, welcomes th...; Pat McFadden | 782 c805 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the hon. Lady’s—somewhat limited—support for the announcement, but she is right that we...; Antonia Bance | 782 c807 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Secretary of State for this announcement, which will make a big difference to so many...; Pat McFadden | 782 c806 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend and parliamentary neighbour for her question. I know Asda in Great Bridge....; Lauren Edwards | 782 c806 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. As someone who represents an area where more th...; Pat McFadden | 782 c806 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is right that we have tried to put extra incentives in this package for small and ...; Frank McNally | 782 c806 (Link to this contribution)
It was a pleasure to join my right hon. Friend at Bellshill jobcentre last year to hear about the...; Pat McFadden | 782 c808 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend and I had a great day in Bellshill just before Christmas; I am grateful to him for...; Alex McIntyre | 782 cc808-7 (Link to this contribution)
I must admit that I am a little disappointed by those on the shadow Front Bench, who are sneering...; Pat McFadden | 782 c807 (Link to this contribution)
Tom Kerridge has achieved a great amount and done fantastic things. I was very pleased to meet hi...; Lola McEvoy | 782 c807 (Link to this contribution)
The message from this Dispatch Box is clear: apprenticeships, apprenticeships, apprenticeships. T...; Pat McFadden | 782 c807 (Link to this contribution)
We do not propose restricting the hiring bonus by sector, though my hon. Friend will have heard m...; Josh Fenton-Glynn | 782 c809 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome this announcement. It will make young people’s lives and futures better. Calder Valley ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c808 (Link to this contribution)
This package can make a big contribution towards that. As I have said, there are 50,000 vacancies...; Judith Cummins | 782 c808 (Link to this contribution)
I call Chris Bloore for the final question.; Chris Bloore | 782 c808 (Link to this contribution)
I am always happy to be last on an announcement such as this. The businesses and young people in ...; Pat McFadden | 782 c808 (Link to this contribution)
On the final question, I agree with my hon. Friend that this problem of young people not in educa...
Subjects: Apprentices Finance Government assistance Job creation Unemployment Training Young people
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

Youth Unemployment

Secondary information

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