What steps he is taking to help increase the numb [4D [K number of apprenticeships available to young people. The number of youth ap [2D [K apprenticeship starts has fallen by 40% over the past decade.

I very much welcome the work being done to priori [6D [K prioritise and expand apprenticeships, but all too often their image is dat [3D [K dated and the modern situation is not fully understood. While my local univ [4D [K university tells me that good work on promoting apprenticeships is being do [2D [K done in private and grammar schools, that is not always reflected across th [2D [K the wider state sector. Will the Government consider how we might tackle th [2D [K the issue, working with apprenticeship bodies, industry organisations and t [1D [K the unions, to ensure that modern apprenticeships are fully known about and [3D [K and the opportunities they provide are fully understood?

I raised with the Prime Minister at PMQs a couple [6D [K couple of weeks ago the case of Twentyfour Hair, a salon in Princes Risboro [7D [K Risborough in my constituency, which for the first time in 21 years cannot [K afford to take on a new apprentice. That message is echoed by businesses ac [2D [K across my constituency. In order to improve uptake in new apprenticeship st [2D [K starts, which I entirely support, what steps is the Secretary of State taki [4D [K taking with the Chancellor to get rid of this punitive level of business ta [2D [K taxation, which is preventing businesses from taking them on?

This month I launched a space apprenticeship pilo [4D [K pilot in Portsmouth North, bringing together Airbus and the Solent Growth P [1D [K Partnership to ensure that candidates who narrowly miss out on an Airbus ap [2D [K apprenticeship are matched directly with defence and space SMEs in the area [4D [K area. Following the failure of the last Government, does the Secretary of S [1D [K State agree that this Labour Government's reforms are finally delivering hi [2D [K high-value opportunities in aerospace and cyber, and will he work with me t [1D [K to look at how we can extend this initiative across other sectors, such as [K maritime and construction?

Apprenticeships offer young people a great pathwa [6D [K pathway into rewarding careers, so I very much welcome the Government's amb [3D [K ambition to create more of them, but a report published last week by the So [2D [K Social Security Advisory Committee highlighted the so-called apprenticeship [14D [K apprenticeship penalty, whereby low-income families can lose up to £330 a w [1D [K week in child benefit and universal credit the moment a 16-year-old takes u [1D [K up an apprenticeship. What is the point of creating more apprenticeships if [2D [K if a cliff edge like this discourages young people from taking them up? Wil [3D [K Will the Minister commit to urgently fixing this penalty, so that no family [6D [K family are left worse off simply because their child chooses an apprentices [11D [K apprenticeship over full-time education?

I really welcome my right hon. Friend's work in t [1D [K this area, given that so many young people are unemployed, but what is he d [1D [K doing to evaluate how many apprentices get proper, long-term, full-time job [3D [K jobs as a result? Clearly, that is the end goal that we all want to see.

Leicester College faces a funding crisis, turning [7D [K turning away young people wanting construction apprenticeships despite high [4D [K high employer and market demands. With local youth NEET rates at nearly 6%, [3D [K 6%, what real-terms funding increase will you commit to for apprenticeship [K schemes?

With a 1 million NEET figure, apprenticeships are [3D [K are key to youth support. However, the Department's own apprenticeship numb [4D [K numbers dropped from 5,000 in 2024 to 3,500 in 2025. Is this hypocrisy?

The Guardian reported that young people from more [4D [K more deprived backgrounds face discrimination via the apprenticeship system [6D [K system, especially if their family receives child benefit. How can you supp [4D [K support these vulnerable families?