Unemployment: Young People

Lord Walton of Detchant Excerpts

Monday 28th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, we are, as a priority, looking at how to help youngsters back into the workplace. That is what our youth contract, which was announced on Friday, is about. It is about trying to do the important things, which are work experience, apprenticeships and getting people work through a subsidy to employers.

[Lord Walton of Detchant]

My Lords—

[Lord Davies of Coity]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, we clearly need to rebuild the apprentice structure in this country—or at least build it, as was never particularly strong compared with countries such as Germany. We are very actively looking at how best to do that.

[Lord Walton of Detchant]

My Lords, to follow up the question of the noble Baroness, Lady Armstrong, is the Minister aware that the newspapers in the north-east reported over the weekend that properties to a value of £130 million owned by One North East, the regional development agency that is being abolished, are being sold and that the money derived from those sales will revert to the Treasury? Would not this money be better spent on doing something about youth unemployment in the north-east?

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, we have just announced putting in an extra £1 billion boost to youth unemployment and that money has to be found from somewhere. The Autumn Statement may be examined with great interest as regards how the money has been shuffled to get that support for youngsters, within an overall spending envelope that it is vital to maintain in order for us to keep low interest rates in this country.