Oral Answers to Questions

Bayo Alaba Excerpts

Monday 27th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I welcome the hon. Member’s consistent interest in this important topic, and he will know that the SEND reforms that have been announced have been well received. Our youth guarantee will apply to young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and the trailblazers that we have set up are trying out new approaches, but I would be delighted to meet him and discuss how we can do this job.

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

I welcome the £2.5 million funding boost recently awarded to South Essex college; that will help equip even more residents from Southend and Rochford with the skills needed for fulfilling, lifelong careers. Following my conversations with Louisa Strachan, founder of Song School in Southend, on their desire for greater support for creative apprenticeships, can the Minister outline the steps that his Department is taking to support young people into the creative and music industries?

[Pat McFadden]

I thank my hon. Friend and sing a song of praise for the Song School in Southend. He is absolutely right to draw attention to the importance of the creative industries. Our creative industries sector plan provides £380 million of targeted investment, and, as part of the work on the youth guarantee, I was pleased to meet the film and TV industries at Pinewood Studios in January of this year to talk more about the opportunities that they offer young people in our fantastic creative industries sector.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bayo Alaba Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

There was a switch to remote assessments in the pandemic, for obvious reasons, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made the point repeatedly that, as was said in the “Pathways to Work” Green Paper, we want to move sharply back to face-to-face, while keeping alternatives for those who need them. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will have spoken to people for whom the prospect of going to an assessment centre provokes the kind of anxiety that his constituent experienced as a result of a telephone call. We are speaking to the assessment providers, and we have already increased the proportion of face-to-face assessments. That work will continue.

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

16. What steps she is taking to support young people into employment, education or training in Southend East and Rochford constituency.

[David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)]

20. What steps she is taking to support young people into employment, education or training in Southend West and Leigh constituency.

[The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)]

With permission, I will answer these questions together, as they are both about the great city of Southend.

Colleagues in Southend jobcentre are working very hard with Southend young people to help them gain skills, experience and confidence. The team have launched a bespoke employability workshop designed for young people, and recently delivered a regional work experience pilot for college students. They also work with our great partners, such as the King’s Trust and FirstPoint Training, to provide placements and opportunities, and there is also the employer-led Movement to Work programme.

[Mr Alaba]

Young people across the UK who are not in education, employment or training are more than twice as likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that support reaches those who need it most?

[Alison McGovern]

The Secretary of State mentioned some moments ago that in everything we do in the Department for Work and Pensions, we are trying to close the gap between those who have suffered disadvantage and those who have not. Young people, especially those who have experienced poverty, are vulnerable to mental ill health, and the pandemic generation deserve more support to get chances that they have missed. That is why we have a joint work and health unit with the Department of Health and Social Care. We also have many agreements across Whitehall relating to our net zero mission, as well as our investment in defence, to help employers recruit the next generation, whatever their background.