Oral Answers to Questions

Suella Braverman Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Suella Braverman (Fareham and Waterlooville) (Reform)]

We have more than 1 million young people who are not in education, employment or training. This is simply a crisis, and one of the reasons for it is that businesses—particularly small and medium-sized ones—are not taking on apprentices. Will the Secretary of State take this chance to support Reform UK’s apprenticeship wage credit, which will provide direct support to small and medium-sized businesses when they take on a young apprentice?

[Pat McFadden]

I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Lady for her question, and I agree that more youth apprenticeship starts are desirable. She may not know this, but we are introducing a hiring incentive of £2,000 for a small business that takes on a young apprentice, and if that young person has been out of work and on universal credit for six months or more, that incentive goes up to £5,000. We are helping small businesses to do exactly what she has called for.