Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce the number of 16–24-year-olds not in education, employment or training.

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

There are currently 900,000 young people who are not in education employment or training and this number has been steadily increasing.

The Department understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why DWP have a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances.

Getting Britain working again is critical to growing the economy. This includes implementing a new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work alongside a Youth Guarantee, meaning training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for all young people aged 18-21 years old, to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age.

DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

Under the previous regime, DWP Youth Offer first launched in September 2020, with the aim to maximise employment outcomes for 18 – 24-year-olds claiming Universal Credit (UC) and to minimise the long-term impacts of unemployment, by providing intensive support early in a claim.

There are three main elements to the Youth Offer, delivered by DWP work coaches:

• Intensive support during the first 13 weeks of a claim through the Youth Employment Programme. This involves weekly appointments with a Jobcentre work coach for 13 weeks helping young people access job vacancies or other appropriate support, including Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, work experience and apprenticeships, so they can move into work quickly.

• Youth Hubs across Great Britain which bring together employment support from a Jobcentre Plus work coach and place-based support from local partnerships to help young people into work. The support offered in a Youth Hub is dependent on local needs, but examples include skills, training, and employment provision, alongside a range of dedicated support services such as mental health, housing and debt management delivered by local partners.

• Youth Employability Coaches (YECs) who are helping young people overcome barriers to employment such as homelessness, addiction, and other complex needs, as well as offering 6 weeks of in-work support once they move into work. YECs work closely alongside Disability Employment Advisors to support those with disabilities and health conditions, and partner organisations who can provide specialist advice.

The Government has committed to its manifesto Back to Work Plan, tackling economic inactivity is central to the Government’s number one mission of growing the economy. The three pillars of the Government’s Back to Work Plan are:

• A youth guarantee for all young people aged 18 to 21.
• A new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work, and on in their work.
• New work, health and skills plans for the economically inactive, led by Mayors and local areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what role the Migration Advisory Committee and the proposed body “Skills England” will play in facilitating the recruitment of overseas workers to train workers and job seekers in the UK in occupations with skills shortages.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

On 22 July, the Government announced plans to create Skills England and to develop a more joined up approach which looks at training of the domestic labour market alongside international recruitment. Further detail about how the Migration Advisory Committee will interact with Skills England, and training in the labour market will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that young people have access to careers advice.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

This government wants young people in all parts of the country to gain workplace skills and to explore career opportunities. In 2024/25, the department is investing approximately £30 million through The Careers and Enterprise Company to support secondary schools and colleges to improve their careers programmes in line with the government’s careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance.

92% of secondary schools and colleges are part of a local Careers Hub that connects educators to employers and apprenticeship providers to improve practice and target support to local priorities. There are over 3,200 fully trained Careers Leaders who implement, coordinate and quality assure careers programmes. Over 400 leading businesses and 4,000 business professionals from across all sectors help schools and colleges to deliver high-quality careers education.

Advice is also available to young people digitally via the National Careers Service. The website helps young people, aged 13 to 18, start discovering their careers options. It includes around 800 job profiles. Young people can access information and advice via webchat and a telephone helpline which is supported by local community-based career advisers. The National Careers Service website can be found here: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/.

This is supported by the Skills for Life campaign, ‘It all starts with skills’, which promotes a range of priority skills programmes to young people, including apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications. Bespoke support is also provided during the exam results period. Get Help with Exam Results Careers Advice will be available from 15 to 31 August.

The government wants to go further to break down barriers to opportunity and give all young people the best life chances. According to a report from the Children’s Commissioner, more than 1 in 3 children report that they do not know enough about good jobs available to them as they get older and leave school.

The department will open the doors to more employers by delivering two weeks-worth of high-quality work experience. This year, the department is piloting new approaches to workplace experiences that will benefit more than 25,000 young people across the country. The three models being tested are virtual workplace experiences for schools in coastal and rural communities; breaking down barriers to high quality workplace experiences for disadvantaged young people; and targeted workplace experiences focused on roles in future growth sectors.

Young people need support to capitalise on these workplace experiences, reflect on what they have learned and set future career goals. The department will train 1,000 careers advisers so that young people can get the expert advice they need.

This government will work closely with schools, colleges, employers and careers advisers to make sure all of our young people can achieve and thrive.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they intend to take to increase the pipeline of skilled workers in the domestic workforce in occupations in the immigration salary list for the Skilled Worker visa.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

On 22 July, the Government announced plans to create Skills England and to develop a more joined up approach which looks at training of the domestic labour market alongside international recruitment. Further detail about how the Migration Advisory Committee will interact with Skills England, and training in the labour market will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to introduce the Skills England bill.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The Skills England Bill will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The Bill will transfer functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to Skills England, and will be an important part of steps taken to establish Skills England in phases over the next 9 to 12 months.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, under the policy whereby asylum seekers whose claims have been outstanding for more than 12 months through no fault of their own can request permission to work in jobs on the Shortage Occupation List published by the Home Office, how many such requests have been (1) made, and (2) granted, since the policy was introduced; and how many asylum seekers have taken up employment under that policy.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Asylum seekers granted permission to work are restricted by the Home Office to apply for jobs on the Immigration Salary List which replaced the Shortage Occupation List on 4 April 2024. The list itself is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee, who will continue to review those occupations.

Asylum seekers are provided with accommodation and support to meet their essential living needs if they would otherwise be destitute whilst their claim is considered.

We also encourage asylum seekers to undertake volunteering activities, so long as it does not amount to unpaid work. Volunteering provides a valuable contribution to their local community and may help them to integrate into society if they ultimately qualify for protection.

The Home Office are unable to report how many asylum seekers have applied for and been accepted for permission to work as this information is not held in a reportable format or forms part of published data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to alter the current arrangements for asylum seekers whose claim has been outstanding for more than 12 months through no fault of their own to be able to request permission to work in jobs on the Shortage Occupation List published by the Home Office.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Asylum seekers granted permission to work are restricted by the Home Office to apply for jobs on the Immigration Salary List which replaced the Shortage Occupation List on 4 April 2024. The list itself is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee, who will continue to review those occupations.

Asylum seekers are provided with accommodation and support to meet their essential living needs if they would otherwise be destitute whilst their claim is considered.

We also encourage asylum seekers to undertake volunteering activities, so long as it does not amount to unpaid work. Volunteering provides a valuable contribution to their local community and may help them to integrate into society if they ultimately qualify for protection.

The Home Office are unable to report how many asylum seekers have applied for and been accepted for permission to work as this information is not held in a reportable format or forms part of published data.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefit of zero-rating VAT on fuel oil to assist households that are reliant on fuel oil to heat their homes; and what plans they have to reduce VAT on fuel oil.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Domestic fuels such as a gas, electricity and fuel oil are subject to the reduced rate of VAT at 5 per cent of VAT.

VAT is the UK's largest tax, forecast to raise £176 billion in 2024/25. A vital source of revenue which helps to fund public services.

The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process."

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Labour Force Survey released by the Office for National Statistics on 10 September, which shows there were 597,000 young people aged 16 to 24 who were unemployed from May to July, an increase of 51,000 from the previous year; and what steps they are taking to take to reduce youth unemployment.

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

Government understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why in our plan to get Britain Working we will introduce a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or employment support. This will sit alongside a new national jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, work health and skills plans for the economically inactive, and the launch of Skills England to open new opportunities for young people.

Currently through the Youth Offer, we provide labour market support to young people aged 16-24 claiming Universal Credit through a range of tailored interventions to help reduce the barriers young people may face, bringing them closer to work or education.

Jobcentre Plus School Advisers target support to young people that schools have identified as being at greatest risk of not being in work or education, or who may be disadvantaged in the labour market.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the waiting list of people in England who are currently waiting for their first specialist appointment with an ophthalmologist.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments, including ophthalmology appointments, per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.

We will be supporting National Health Service trusts to deliver these through innovation, sharing best practice to increase productivity and efficiency, and ensuring the best value is delivered.

Transforming outpatient services will also help reduce waiting times for patients. The target in the 2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance to increase the proportion of all outpatient attendances that are for first appointments, or follow-up appointments attracting a procedure tariff to 46%, aims to improve access to specialist first appointments, or clinically necessary follow ups, including for ophthalmology patients. A copy of the guidance is attached.

The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 94 per cent increase of food parcels distributed to people in hardship by the Trussell Trust in the five years to March 2024; and what action they are taking to eliminate the need for people to use foodbanks.

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

We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. The latest Households Below Average Income statistics show that 3% of all individuals had used a food bank on at least one occasion in 2022/23. For children this figure is 6%. This is unacceptable.

On 30^th July, the Secretary of State held a food poverty roundtable with experts and charities to better understand the priorities in this area. We are already taking steps to tackle poverty, including free breakfast clubs in every primary school so children don’t go hungry, protecting renters from arbitrary eviction, slashing fuel poverty and banning exploitative zero-hours contracts. Good work is the foundation of our approach, and our New Deal for Working People, including ensuring that the minimum wage is a genuine living wage along with reformed employment support, will mean that many more people will benefit from the dignity and purpose of employment.

In addition, we have extended the Household Support Fund for a further 6 months from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An estimated total package of approximately £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive £421 million to support those in need locally.

Alongside this, the Child Poverty Taskforce has started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of the rise in homelessness as published on 3 October in the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government's report Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2023–24.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The statistics published on 3 October shows that the most common reason for loss of accommodation for households threatened with homelessness was termination of a private rented assured shorthold tenancy (AST). For households that were already homeless, the most common reason was that their family or friends were no longer willing or able to accommodate them. The Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 evictions for both new and existing tenancies at the same time, giving all private renters immediate security and assurance.

The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.