Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Young Futures Hubs have been set up.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The first eight Early Adopter Young Futures Hubs are due to be operational before 31st March 2026. The host local authorities for the Early Adopters can be found on gov.uk

The timeline for rollout of the remaining 42 Young Futures Hubs will be determined in due course.

The Government has developed Young Futures Hubs as part of the recently published National Youth Strategy - Youth Matters. The National Youth Strategy sets out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this across the country.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the decision to restrict Level 7 apprenticeship funding for apprentices aged over 21 does not financially disadvantage learners who have completed a Level 6 architectural assistant apprenticeship and wish to progress to a full professional qualification at Level 7.

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

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Since January 2026, the government no longer funds level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will enable apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers.

The government is encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff aged over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. The department has published guidance on privately funded apprenticeships, which will enable employers to privately fund level 7 apprenticeships for staff aged over 22: Privately funded apprenticeships: rules and guidance - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools have mental health support teams.

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

9,986 out of 24,149 (41%) schools in England were supported by an NHS-funded Mental Health Support Team (MHST) in March 2025. This data on the coverage of MHSTs in England in 2024/25 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision. This has been available since 16 May 2025 at national, regional and local authority level and since 10 July 2025 at constituency level. Around six in ten pupils nationally are expected to have access to an MHST by March 2026, and we will accelerate the roll out to reach full national coverage by 2029.

Data on MHST coverage is collected annually, as part of the government's commitment to expand MHSTs to every school, so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.