Oral Answers to Questions

Joe Robertson Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

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

1. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the creation of jobs for young people.

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the creation of jobs for young people.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (Jonathan Reynolds)]

Everything my Department does—from industrial strategy, small business support, trade and exports to innovation and science—has the creation of good jobs at the heart of it. In the UK, there are challenges around jobs for young people, no doubt, but youth unemployment has shown to be outperforming that of comparable economies such as France and Italy, and the Government have a further agenda in this area.

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[Joe Robertson]

Jobs and opportunities for young people have dried up over the last two years because the Government have made it more expensive to employ them. On the Isle of Wight, this has compounded our pre-existing structural problems. Will the Government now do the right thing and halve national insurance contributions for employing under-25s, to help grow more opportunities and jobs for young people?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

No one in this Government is complacent about the challenges of youth unemployment, but there has been no spike in the figures since 2024. The rise has been consistent since 2022, in an entirely linear fashion. The hon. Gentleman will know that employers do not pay national insurance for under-21s, or for apprentices under the age of 25—it is important to be clear about how the system works. On the challenges in his constituency, there is a further agenda coming in this area through the Milburn review. It has an exciting set of proposals that I believe employers in the hon. Gentleman’s area will get behind, if we make them a substantial offer.