Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 1 June (HL Deb col 642), what is the evidential basis that there was extensive consultation with political parties during the course of the drawing up of the Representation of the People Bill.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has undertaken consultation on the Representation of the People Bill over the whole length of its development. In July 2025 the then-Minister for Homelessness and Democracy, the Hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney, wrote to all frontbenchers inviting them to meet with her about the recently published Strategy for Elections, which forms the basis for the Bill and hosted discussions on the document open to all Members of both Houses.

Since then, the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy has consulted with political parties throughout the passage of the Bill, including inviting frontbenchers to meet with her to discuss the Bill upon its introduction in the Other Place. Officials from my department have also met with the Parliamentary Parties Panel during the development of the Bill, most recently on 2 June.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion in Alan Milburn's report Young people and work: interim report, published on 28 May, that devolution has created "partial responsibility without full control" in relation to youth participation; and what additional powers they intend to devolve to local leaders to address youth economic inactivity.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We know youth unemployment and inactivity is too high in all areas of the UK and it is vital young people can access comprehensive support and quality opportunities wherever they live.

We are already working to better integrate national and local labour market provision in England through local Get Britain Working partnerships and through our Youth Guarantee Trailblazer partnerships with eight Strategic Authorities. These recognise the importance of different partners working together to drive better integration of services regardless of who delivers them.

The interim report is an important step in our work to tackle youth inactivity, and we will consider Alan Milburn’s full recommendations in the autumn as we shape the next phase of reform.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to youth participation and youth inactivity when developing proposals for English devolution; and what role they envisage strategic authorities playing in reducing the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We recognise the value Strategic Authorities can offer in the leadership, co-ordination and provision of services in their areas to support young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or who are at risk of becoming NEET.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education work closely with Strategic Authorities to deliver activity to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. For example, eight Mayoral Strategic Authority are delivering Youth Trailblazers to test localised approaches to reduce the number of young people who are or are at risk of becoming NEET.

The role of Strategic Authorities in youth participation and youth inactivity long-term will be informed by learning from localised approaches, wider delivery evidence and the recommendations from the independent report into Young People and Work led by Alan Milburn.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will continue to work closely with central and local government to improve the lives of young people across the UK, supported by stronger data sharing and clearer local accountability.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of regional variation in the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training; and whether they intend to give local leaders greater powers to tailor employment and skills provision to local labour market conditions.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP regularly publishes statistics on young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) by region in their ‘The Get Britian Working: Labour Market Insights’ publication on GOV.UK.

DfE regularly publishes statistics on NEETs in England and statistics on 16–17-year-old NEETs by local authority, which can be found in the Explore education statistics on GOV.UK.

Local leaders across Great Britain are well placed to understand their local labour market, build connections with employers, and help knit together local services tailored to their local labour market conditions.

That is why:

We have devolved approximately 68% of the £1.4bn a year Adult Skills Fund (ASF) to 13 areas. In these areas, the relevant authority is responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers.

We have delegated delivery of Supported Employment (Connect to Work) across England and Wales, including in the Integrated Settlements for Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities. This totals an overall investment of £1bn. The recently published official statistics for Connect to Work show that 26% of the people who started on the Connect to Work programme in 2025/26 were aged 16-24.

We are piloting devolved funding through our 17 Economic Inactivity and Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, giving selected Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Welsh Government high-level objectives so they can design their own approach (up to £245m over 25/26 and 26/27).

We are also establishing Youth Hubs in over 360 locations over the next 3 years so that all young people aged 16-24 – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together employability support from work coaches with local partners from mental health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how delivery of the Youth Guarantee will be coordinated through mayoral combined authorities and local authorities; and what metrics will be used to assess local performance.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education work closely with mayoral combined authorities and local authorities across delivery. This includes investing an additional £2.5 billion into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to support nearly one million 16–24-year-olds and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn, including 300,000 opportunities for workplace experience and training and unlocking up to 200,000 employment opportunities.

The Youth Guarantee includes eight Trailblazers being delivered by Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) in England. These Trailblazers are testing localised approaches to reduce the number of young people who are or are at risk of becoming NEET, with evidence informing GB-wide delivery. Trailblazer are identifying and engaging young people who require additional support to connect them to opportunities and bringing together the range of national entitlements with more locally tailored provision and initiatives. This includes strengthening local coordination through local leadership, and outreach with partners including third sector organisations, employers and colleges to better connect young people with education, employment and training opportunities.

The Department has commissioned an evaluation of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers to build evidence on how the program improves employment outcomes, reduces economic inactivity, increases participation in education and training, and supports systems integration. We expect to publish interim findings in 2027 and for full findings from the evaluation alongside a synthesis review of local evaluations to be available in the Winter of 2027/28.