Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

5. What recent progress he has made on the expansion of youth hubs.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What recent progress he has made on the expansion of youth hubs.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

16. What recent progress he has made on the expansion of youth hubs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is right, and I thank Cardiff football club for being a partner. We are supporting nearly 1 million young people and creating up to half a million opportunities for jobs and training. We are doing that by providing incentives for employers to hire, promoting apprenticeships and delivering a whole range of targeted programmes. Another important point about youth hubs is that they are not just available to people already signing on and on benefits; a significant proportion of young people not in education, employment or training are not claiming benefits, and the youth hubs are open to all of them, too.

[Chris Vince]

As you will be aware, Mr Speaker, my Harlow constituency is full of incredibly talented young people, some of whom I had the pleasure to meet at a recent Harlow college awards ceremony. Alan Milburn’s report makes it clear that young people are being let down by a broken system and deep-seated barriers, rather than by their own ambition, so will the Secretary of State outline how a youth hub in my constituency will make a massive difference to young people in Harlow, ensure that they get the skills that local employers are looking for, and build on the great work done by Harlow college?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is a great champion of Harlow and the people of Harlow, and I believe he will make maximum use of the youth hub to advance opportunities for young people in his constituency. We are committed to giving the young people of Harlow the best possible chance in life. I recently visited the Netherlands, which has a youth inactivity rate significantly lower than ours, and youth hubs are an important part of its effort.