Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Kickstart: Youth Unemployment

Monday 17 May 2021 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Youth unemployment in the UK is currently at 575,000, down compared to 2010 levels.
  • The kickstart scheme has helped 20,000 people obtain weekly salaries they did not have before.
  • There are no current plans to extend the kickstart scheme beyond its current timeline.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Peter Aldous Con
Employment
Context

Youth unemployment statistics show a decrease compared to 2010 levels. The Kickstart Scheme was launched in September with the aim of providing jobs for young people.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the effect of the kickstart scheme on levels of employment among young people?

Answer from Therese Coffey (The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families)

Youth unemployment is down compared with 2010, currently standing at 575,000 young people, and we have the second-highest youth employment rate in the G7, second only to Canada. We are conscious of the scarring effects of long-term unemployment, which is why we developed kickstart as the flagship of our plan for jobs. Since its launch in September, over 200,000 jobs have been approved and over 20,000 young people have started their jobs. As our recovery continues, we expect to see many more starts in the next few weeks and months ahead.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide a specific assessment of the impact on youth employment levels as requested.

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Q2 Matt Western Lab Warwick and Leamington
Employment
Context

An IT support company in the constituency started the kickstart process on September 15, but after eight months has not recruited anyone, indicating inefficiency.

Question

Does this explain the fact that for every 25 young people who have lost their jobs over the past 12 months, kickstart has helped just one back into work?

Answer from Therese Coffey (The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families)

It is fair to say that 20,000 people now have a salary coming in every week that they did not have before. I am sure that the employment Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies)—will be happy to look into the specific circumstances of the role to which the hon. Gentleman refers. Young people are not compelled to apply for kickstart if they are already applying for other jobs as well as part of their conditionality.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide a direct assessment of the effectiveness or inefficiency of the scheme in job placement.

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Q3 Peter Aldous Con
Employment
Context

Suffolk's gateway partnership has been successful in rolling out the kickstart scheme, but it needs to be extended beyond this year.

Question

To ensure that this initiative realises its full potential in supporting young people into work, it needs to be extended well beyond the end of this year. I would be most grateful if my right hon. Friend and Suffolk colleague confirmed whether she agrees with that conclusion and whether she is making representations to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for funding to be provided at the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

Answer from Therese Coffey (The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families)

I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour, and, indeed, I commend Suffolk's gateway partnership and have seen its success in my role as MP for Suffolk Coastal. There are no current plans to extend the kickstart scheme. We want to focus on delivering jobs for young people as soon as we can, and eligible young people will be able to start new kickstart jobs until the end of this year—December 2021.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not confirm extension plans or representation for continued funding.

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Q4 Seema Malhotra Labour (Co-op) Feltham and Heston
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The questioner is handing over to a new role and thanking the Minister for constructive discussions. The kickstart scheme has been active for some time.

Question

May I say that this is going to be my last DWP questions in this role and thank the Minister for the constructive way that she has developed the relationship? In terms of kickstart, can you provide an update on its progress?

Answer from Therese Coffey (The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families)

First, I congratulate the hon. Lady on her new role; I understand that she is moving into the shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy team and I am sure that she will be a huge success there, too. In terms of kickstart, in the last four weeks, we have achieved, on average, 400 starts a day. This is in line with what we are seeing with the opening up of the economy. Today, we are on the first element of step 3, and we expect the starts under kickstart to get going.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide a detailed update or assessment of progress.

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