Milburn Review: Interim Report Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Milburn Review: Interim Report

Bob Blackman Excerpts
Tuesday 2nd June 2026

(1 week, 3 days ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrew Western Portrait Andrew Western
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I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. If she has any ideas about how we can extend the knowledge and availability of such information, I would be happy to hear them.

Bob Blackman Portrait Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
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The Minister must understand that to create the jobs that we need, we must encourage the private sector to invest. In my constituency, every single hospitality venue has halved the number of staff it employs. When I ask why, the answers are national insurance, non-domestic rates and the new Employment Rights Act. Extending the national insurance holiday, as it were, from age 21 to 24 would enable people who leave school to get a job, enable those who leave university to get a job, and de-risk taking on young people for employers.

Andrew Western Portrait Andrew Western
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The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight that incentives are needed to encourage employers to hire young people. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced the incentives that I have already laid out: supporting young people who have been on universal credit for six months by financially incentivising employers to hire them, and incentivising small and medium-sized enterprises to hire apprentices under the age of 25 earning less than £50,000.