Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Kickstart Scheme

Tuesday 15 March 2022 · 9 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 6 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Some 130,000 young people across Great Britain have benefited from the kickstart scheme so far.
  • The Government will invest 3.8 billion in skills by 2024-25, a 42% cash increase compared to 2019-20.
  • The DWP's youth offer, worth 60 million, includes a 13-week youth employment programme and supported youth hubs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 James Davies Con
Employment
Context

The question is about the assessment of progress made by the kickstart scheme.

Question

What assessment has been made of the progress of the kickstart Scheme?

Answer from Simon Clarke

Some 130,000 young people across Great Britain have benefited from the kickstart scheme so far, including in my hon. Friends' constituencies. That is lower than the 250,000 jobs that the scheme could have funded, but the scheme was designed at a time when unemployment was expected to peak at 12%. The reality is that, thanks to the intervention by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, the economy has recovered better than expected and unemployment peaked at 5.2% in 2020.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about assessing progress was not directly addressed; only general figures were provided without detailed assessment criteria.

How: Hedging Language

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Q2 Andy Carter
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question is about the steps taken to help businesses retain young people as the kickstart programme ends.

Question

Can my right hon. Friend tell me what steps the Government are taking to help businesses retain young people as we approach the end of the six-month kickstart programme?

Answer from Simon Clarke

For those on universal credit who do not immediately continue into full-time unsubsidised work, support will continue to be available from the young person's work coach to help them use their newly gained skills, and support will also be available from the wider DWP youth offer.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about retention steps was partially addressed with broad statements rather than concrete actions or commitments.

How: Broad Statements

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Q3 Cherilyn Mackrory
Education Employment
Context

The question is about what the Department will do to support skills and apprenticeships for young people in Cornwall post-kickstart scheme.

Question

Can my right hon. Friend expand on what the Department will do to support skills and apprenticeships, particularly for young people across Cornwall, so that we can be at the heart of the levelling-up agenda?

Answer from Simon Clarke

The Government will invest £3.8 billion in skills by 2024-25, which is equivalent to a cash increase of 42% compared with 2019-20. On apprenticeships, I am happy to say that last year more than 3,000 people started apprenticeships in my hon. Friend's county of Cornwall.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about supporting skills and apprenticeships was partially addressed with general commitments without concrete details on how the funds will be allocated or used.

How: Broad Statements

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Q4 Henry Smith Con
Economy Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question is about comparing the government's record on employment with that of previous Labour Governments.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the way to recovery for our economy and the cost of living is the multi-billion pound plan for jobs that the Government are delivering?

Answer from Simon Clarke

To continue to boost employment, wages and living standards, he rightly references our plan for jobs, which is proving to be an enormous success. In total, the Department for Work and Pensions spend on labour market support will be more than £6 billion over the next three years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about comparing recovery plans was not directly addressed; instead, general statements were made about current government efforts.

How: Broad Statements

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Q5 James Davies Con
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question is about ongoing support for those who have completed their kickstart placements.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating all those who have taken part in the scheme, especially those who have been given permanent jobs, and set out what ongoing support there will be for those who have completed their placements?

Answer from Simon Clarke

Kickstart is, of course, only one part of the wider package of support for young people that is under way. The DWP's youth offer, which runs until 2025 and is worth £60 million, includes a 13-week youth employment programme, supported youth hubs and, crucially, specialised youth employability coaches.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about ongoing support was partially addressed with broad statements rather than concrete commitments or mechanisms.

How: Broad Statements

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Q6 Alison McGovern Lab Birkenhead
Economy
Context

The question is about the success and impact of the kickstart scheme according to the National Audit Office.

Question

In relation to the failed kickstart scheme, what does the Chief Secretary make of the following economic expression: “dead weight loss”?

Answer from Simon Clarke

With respect to the hon. Lady, of whom I am a great admirer, that is an unfair characterisation of the success of the scheme. It clearly needs to be situated in the wider context. In fact, the British economy has performed much better than anyone expected when the scheme was set up.

Not addressed: The specific ask about dead weight loss and evaluation criteria were avoided; instead, a defence of the scheme's overall success was provided without addressing the criticisms directly.

How: Deflecting

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Q7 Peter Grant SNP
Employment
Context

The question is about whether the government agrees with the Public Accounts Committee's report on the kickstart scheme.

Question

Does the Minister agree with the PAC report, which was endorsed by a Committee consisting of a majority of Conservative MPs?

Answer from Simon Clarke

No, I do not agree with that report. It is an unfair characterisation of a response that was put in place at pace to meet an unprecedented crisis in our employment market. The wider success of our policy on youth employment is best measured by the fact that in January there were 500,000 more employees aged under 25 than there were in January 2021.

Not addressed: The specific ask about agreeing with the PAC report was not addressed; instead, a general defence of the scheme's effectiveness was provided without addressing the criticisms directly.

How: Deflecting

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Q8 Gareth Thomas Labour (Co-op) Harrow West
Business & Trade
Context

The question arises from the unfair 25% tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on British steel exports, affecting businesses in the kickstart scheme.

Question

Businesses in the steel industry are more likely to be able to support the kickstart scheme if the Government manage to get Donald Trump's unfair tariffs of 25% on British steel exports lifted. Has the Chancellor spoken to the Chief Secretary about this issue, and if not why not?

Answer from Simon Clarke

The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point about tariffs. The Government believe in free trade and it is something that we want to see happen too. As a Member of Parliament who represents a steel-making constituency, I am keenly aware of this as an issue. The Department for International Trade leads on the issue, and I know that the Secretary of State and her predecessor have had long and ongoing conversations with their American counterparts about getting those tariffs lifted.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about whether the Chancellor has spoken to the Chief Secretary was not directly addressed.

How: Changing Subject, General Statement

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Q9 Margaret Ferrier SNP
Employment
Context

The kickstart scheme has failed to attract the predicted number of participants, falling short by over 80,000 individuals.

Question

With the scheme failing to attract the numbers that were predicted by over 80,000, will the Minister outline what structure is in place to attract those who have lost out, to ensure that those young people have opportunities to find a life career? Will the new scheme be UK-wide?

Answer from Simon Clarke

Youth unemployment is lower today than it was pre-pandemic, and the wider success of the scheme has to be judged in the context that the worst-case scenario that we were looking to offset never came to pass because of the interventions that we made. If a scheme does not achieve the headline numbers that were anticipated at the time it was established because the wider economic performance of the country was so much better than anticipated, that is a success, not something to bemoan.

Not addressed: The specific ask about addressing the shortfall and UK-wide coverage was not directly addressed.

How: Changing Subject, General Statement

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