Oral Answers to Questions

Aphra Brandreth Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

It was fantastic to visit my hon. Friend and see at first hand the impact of our changes for children and families across her constituency. She is right that our current SEND system just is not working for children or families, and I encourage her constituents to share their thoughts with us through the consultation. However, we are not waiting to drive the change we know is desperately needed; just last week, I announced the first wave of investment in our Experts at Hand programme, which will make a huge difference in ensuring that children can get the specialist support that they need much more quickly.

[Aphra Brandreth (Chester South and Eddisbury) (Con)]

T3. A local employer—himself a former apprentice—tells me that his industry is now in crisis, with his firm’s apprentice intake falling from 60 to just 20 this year due to this Government’s decisions. Meanwhile, Reaseheath College is having to turn students away and restrict courses in agricultural engineering and construction due to a lack of funding. With nearly 1 million young people not in education, employment or training, does the Minister accept that this Government are failing young people, and will she instead back the Conservatives’ plan to create 100,000 more apprenticeships by lifting funding caps and supporting employers with up to £5,000 per apprentice?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)]

The Conservatives’ legacy of almost 1 million young people being out of work and education is shameful, but we are cleaning up this mess. I am delighted to share with the House that we are introducing a new deal for young people that includes a £2,000 grant for small to medium-sized enterprises taking on 16 to 24-year-olds to work and a new £3,000 youth job grant for hiring apprentices aged 18 to 24 who have been on universal credit for more than six months. We are the Labour party, which means we are about getting young people into work.