Stephen Doughty
Main Page: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)Department Debates - View all Stephen Doughty's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Dr Coffey
I appreciate my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm and endorsement. He is right to be enthusiastic about this opportunity for young people. The scheme is intended to take applications up to December 2021 to roll into summer 2022. Of course, this is just one element of our Government’s plan for jobs, but the ambition is unprecedented. I can think of a whole series of large employers in his constituency such as 3M and Waitrose headquarters who I am confident can join, but it is also bristling with smaller employers who I hope will be able to join the scheme, too.
Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
It is good to see the Secretary of State learning not only from the Future Jobs Fund example but the Jobs Growth Wales example set by the Welsh Labour Government over the past few years. It is so crucial that this leads to long-term employment, not just temporary employment, so will she agree to work closely with the Welsh Government to dovetail this scheme with the existing Jobs Growth Wales scheme, the apprenticeship scheme, the traineeship scheme and the ReAct scheme, which are already in place, to ensure that there is a full package for young people in particular to stay in work? Will she look again at the 30-person limit? SMEs are a much bigger part of the economy in Wales and we need to ensure that they are able to benefit as much as they can from the scheme.
Dr Coffey
The Government already have close relationships on aspects of trying to help people get into work. It is worth pointing out that the Welsh Labour Government’s own report into Job Growth Wales, published in June this year, found that the programme suffered from a lack of clarity and momentum. It does not matter who provides the support to get people into work, whether it is the Welsh Government or the United Kingdom Government. I want to make sure that we focus on the young people for whom it is intended, rather than some of the bureaucracy that may come in other ways.