Youth Guarantee Scheme: Evaluation

Lord Harrington of Watford Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My noble friend is right that, while all unemployment is devastating for the individual, for young people to not be able to access the workplace, or education and training, is a waste of their talents at the most important part of their adult lives. That is why we are absolutely committed to ensuring successful delivery of the youth guarantee and the jobs guarantee. It is a top priority for the Government. The department will provide updates on the development and delivery of the youth guarantee. My noble friend is right about the need to raise awareness. That is why we will partner with national and local organisations, and employers, to increase awareness of the youth guarantee so that young people and their communities understand the support and opportunities available.

[Lord Harrington of Watford (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of Make UK, which has 26,000 manufacturing companies that belong to it and is a major apprenticeship provider. As the Minister is very aware, because we have spoken to her on the subject, currently, apprenticeships in manufacturing are declining across the UK because of the big gap between the money that the apprenticeship levy provides and the actual cost of it, as well as rising employment costs. Given that the industrial strategy is committed to reversing this trend and increasing the funding bands, when will the Government follow through on their commitment, which is really needed for the youth guarantee scheme to be a success?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right that I have been able to speak to Make UK about the important role of apprenticeships in delivering engineering skills for young and older people. I understand the concerns raised about the funding rates for engineering apprenticeships. That is why, as I said when I met Make UK, we will continue to monitor that in order to ensure that they meet the costs of training. We will continue to find other ways to encourage people on to apprenticeships, such as removing some of the bureaucracy associated with them, supporting the reform of end-point assessment, and removing the requirement for separate maths and English qualifications for adults.