Youth Unemployment

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend makes the very important point that a significant proportion of the 1 million young people not in education, employment or training are not claiming benefits at all, and not signing on for standard universal credit or the health element.

One way in which we want to reach those young people is through the expansion of our youth hub programme, which gives them a chance to come into a place—often a sports or community institution—and get a range of help on the health front, the housing front and the work-finding front, because young people do not live their lives according to Whitehall departmental boundaries, and why should they? It is up to us to tailor the help to the way they live their lives, and get it to them in the places where they want to be.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a student roundtable, with two pupils from my eight secondary schools and two from my further education college. I agree with the Secretary of State in that I was left incredibly excited for them and by their hopes and aspirations for the future. However, we also had a discussion about how AI-proof those plans were. His statement mentioned short AI courses, and he also talked about the urgency. Can he tell us how short these short courses will be, who is going to deliver them and how the young people of Spelthorne will sign up to them?

[Pat McFadden]

These short courses or apprenticeship units are something that employers have called for. Until now the minimum length of time for an apprenticeship has usually been eight or 12 months, or something like that, but these can be for a matter of weeks. We will publish more information about them as soon as we can. The sectors, including AI, in which the first wave have been announced are all sectors in which we will need the skills of young people. We are trying to adapt the training offer that we fund to the needs of employers, and one way to do that is with more short courses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

It is always a pleasure to meet my parliamentary neighbour from Dudley. She is absolutely right to draw attention to the role of allied health professionals, because there is a strong link between good health and employment, and this problem has to be seen across departmental boundaries.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

Following the Budget, a furious Labour voter, 30 years old, texted me to say, “I am furious about the salary sacrifice thing. I give up a lot of things to put 20% of my salary into my pension. That’s going to cost me almost two grand a year for being responsible.” Why are the Government so keen on punishing savers?

Government Resilience Action Plan

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Tuesday 8th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

The first line of defence in national resilience is us, the citizenry. The Health Secretary and the Education Secretary wrote recently lamenting the absence of much-needed grit among many of our young people. Now that that risk has been identified at the highest level of Government, does it appear on the risk register?

[Pat McFadden]

We talk about the whole-society approach, because we understand that the public—us, as the hon. Gentleman says—have to be part of it. Government has its role to play, but it will not do everything; the public have a really important role to play in resilience.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

Let me echo the right hon. Member’s words in paying tribute to the work that our intelligence and security agencies do in keeping us all safe every day. We discussed the Committee earlier in these questions. The Government have approved an uplift in resources for the Committee, and we are working closely with it on the best operating model for doing its job as effectively as possible.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

Mr Speaker,

“The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”—

so said the controversial Ulster rap band who remain on the bill at Glastonbury. Given that is the case, can the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster reassure the House that no Cabinet Office Ministers will be attending Glastonbury this year?

[Pat McFadden]

I will not be going to Glastonbury, but I am very much looking forward to seeing Bruce Springsteen at Anfield stadium on Saturday night.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lincoln?Jopp?(Spelthorne) (Con)]

T7.???In?a speech in December, the Minister said that he wanted to put bureaucracy on more of a �start-up� footing with a Silicon Valley vibe, and that in order to achieve that he was going to send teams�indeed, not just teams, but crack teams�to Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Essex in order to test, learn, and fix by Friday. I have a simple question: in those three months, how many of those crack teams have gone in, what have they tested, what have they learned, and what have they fixed by Friday?

[Pat McFadden]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for reading my speeches so closely, but what he has misunderstood is that the teams are on the ground, and the process is to learn every week. I am glad to report that I have already visited a couple of those areas, and good work is under way. The whole point is that this will develop, it will adapt, and perhaps it will be different from the record of the Conservative party, which saw a growth of 131,000 public officials over the last�

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the increased funding for the devolved Government in Scotland as a result of the Budget. We are also putting more money into the NHS in England. He is right to say that when we ask the taxpayer to pay more, that should come with reform. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been clear about that, and I hope it applies elsewhere too.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence said recently that he would reduce the number of permanent civil servants at the MOD by 10% by the end of this Parliament. Will the Cabinet Office be larger or smaller at the end of this Parliament?

[Pat McFadden]

The hon. Gentleman has perhaps not been paying attention. We announced our programme to reduce the number of civil servants in the Cabinet Office just before Christmas.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Pat McFadden

Thursday 5th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

I congratulate the college in Ebbw Vale on its brilliant cyber-security course.

My hon. Friend is right to point out the threat, which is why I spoke at the NATO cyber-defence conference last week. State and non-state actors are constantly probing our defences. It is a constant effort to keep those defences strong, and we are determined to work not only with education but with business and our critical national infrastructure to make sure we are as well protected as we can be against the threats we face. Security is no longer just about hard military power; it is also about cyber-security, which is why that has to be a real priority for the Government.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

10. What job vacancies in the Prime Minister's Office are being advertised.