Oral Answers to Questions

Mel Stride Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to reduce youth unemployment.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)]

2. What steps he is taking to reduce youth unemployment.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

5. What his approach is to tackling youth unemployment.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Duncan Smith]

My hon. Friend is right. Under the new arrangements, suppliers must provide an apprenticeships and skills report within six months of the contract start date. The idea is that they will periodically show their progress towards meeting a commitment to employ 5% of apprentices in delivering the Department for Work and Pensions contract to which they are entitled. Work programme providers will be paid primarily for the results that they achieve, which means that they will be under pressure to do a similar thing.

[Mel Stride]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that under the previous Government, youth unemployment rose by 40%. Will he reassure the House that the measures he has just outlined will ensure that under this Government we do not have a repeat of that shameful record?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

My hon. Friend is right that youth unemployment rose from about 2004, regardless of a growing economy. One problem was that when the previous Government came to power, there was a guaranteed training place for all 16 to 18-year-olds, which they scrapped. That was one of the worst, most short-sighted decisions that any Government have ever made.