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Neil Shastri-Hurst
Main Page: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)Department Debates - View all Neil Shastri-Hurst's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(1 month ago)
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Pat McFadden
My hon. Friend raises a really important point. We cannot allow young people to drop out and to drop out of sight of the system. It is really important, especially for 16 and 17-year-olds, because we want to see participation in education or training up until the age of 18. On my visit to the Netherlands, I saw how it takes this really seriously, with effort after effort to stop young people dropping out. I think we can learn from that and about tracking young people more closely.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
There are now over 1 million young people not in education, employment or training, which is the highest number in more than a decade. When the history books are written on this period of Government, does the Secretary of State agree that the story will be of a lost generation?
Pat McFadden
When the history books are written about this, they will show that this number rose by a quarter of a million in the last three years during which the hon. Member’s party was in power, and the Conservatives did precisely nothing about it. That is what the history books will show. We are responding with a youth guarantee that puts work and opportunity at the heart of welfare reform. I wish they had done it—they did not—but we are.