Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with local employers in the West Midlands on tackling skills shortages.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the important role that local employers have in addressing skills shortages, that is why Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are increasing the voice and influence that employers directly have in their local skills systems. The West Midlands LSIP is led by Coventry Chamber of Commerce, working collaboratively with: other Chambers of Commerce in the region; the West Midlands Combined Authority and a range of local employers; further- and higher- education training providers; and other stakeholders – including Job Centre Plus. When the new LSIP is developed this summer, it will provide strategic direction to the West Midlands skills system and an invaluable source of intelligence to the newly established Skills England, which has recently joined my Department.
Additionally, through both its national Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and Job Centre Plus teams in the West Midlands, the DWP is working to address the skills shortages in the area. This includes delivering Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which give people job specific training and guaranteed interviews and running employer led academies in areas like construction, manufacturing and food production. The department is working with: industry bodies; West Midlands Combined Authority; local employers; and with organisations such as the Construction Industry Training Board and Skills for Care, to design training that meets real employer needs.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help increase uptake of apprenticeships among young people in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people, including those in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, at the beginning of their careers.
In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.
The government also facilitates the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN), comprising around 2,500 employer and apprentice volunteers who go into schools and colleges to share their compelling stories and experiences of what apprenticeships can do for young people.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of local labour market participation rates in the West Midlands.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is published and available at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
The estimated participation rates can be found by selecting “Query data” on the NOMIS home page and selecting “Annual Population Survey/Labour Force Survey” and then “annual population survey (Dec 2004 to Jun 2025)” in the lists of data sources. The Geography will need to be set for the relevant ‘local authorities: district / unitary’ within the West Midlands. The Variable will need to be set to “Economic activity rate - aged 16-64”. West Midlands can also be selected in the ‘regions’ category to give participation rates for the whole region.
Through our Get Britain Working Strategy, we are reforming employment, health, and skills support to tackle economic inactivity, support people into good work, and create an inclusive, thriving labour market.
Specifically in the West Midlands, we are working with the West Midlands Combined Authority to deliver a Youth Trailblazer, which is testing how best to deliver and integrate work, health and skills support locally for young people. The West Midlands Combined Authority has also received their Connect to Work funding through their 2025/26 Integrated Settlement to deliver Supported Employment to disabled people, individuals with health conditions and people with complex barriers to employment. They will receive further Connect to Work funding in the 2026/27 – 2028/29 Integrated Settlement from April.
Furthermore, all areas in England have been asked to develop a Local Get Britain Working plan. Led by local government and co-developed with local NHS, Jobcentre Plus and wider stakeholders, these plans will identify local labour market challenges and priorities, and support the integration of locally-delivered services. West Midlands Combined Authority have published their local Get Britain Working Plan, which can be found here: West Midlands Works
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current employment support programmes in former industrial areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Get Britain Working Labour Market Insights publication contains a range of analysis of how labour markets are performing in different types of labour market across the country - including former industrial areas - Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights - GOV.UK.
We are committed to ensuring employment support meets the needs of local areas. To do this, we are:
Employment support programmes such as the Get Britain Working Trailblazers, WorkWell and Connect to Work will be evaluated to assess the extent to which they help people to enter and remain in work.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2025 on Support for Young People, HCWS1137, what steps he is taking to ensure that expanded Sector-based Work Academy Programmes in West Midlands growth sectors such as logistics, automotive, retail and health lead to genuine employment progression; and if he will publish West Midlands-specific data on completion rates and subsequent job offers.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP’s Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) – which offer training, work experience and a job interview to DWP customers seeking work – help employers with immediate and future employment needs by upskilling benefit claimants to fill local job vacancies. Jobcentres work with local employers and training providers to establish SWAPs in a wide range of sectors including logistics, automotive, retail and health.
As evidenced by the SWAP Impact Assessment (Sector-based Work Academy Programme: A Quantitative Impact Assessment - GOV.UK), SWAPs have been proven to increase the time participants spend in employment. The positive impact of SWAPs on employment outcomes is consistent across all regions including West Midlands.
From April 2026, the Youth Guarantee will increase the number of SWAPs available so that more jobseekers, particularly young people, can take advantage of the employment support offered.
We publish data on SWAP starts and outcomes on a quarterly basis. This includes the number of starts broken down by Local Authority, by Region and by Sector. Outcomes data was published for the first time this year and shows the proportion of SWAP starts with earnings at 6 and 9 months, by month of start, and the average monthly earnings at 6 and 9 months for those with earnings in that period, by month of start. The latest publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sector-based-work-academy-programmes-swaps-management-information-april-2021-to-september-2025. The next release is due to be published in January 2026.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many face-to-face assessments for benefit claimants have taken place since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
While this information is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this data in a future statistical release.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to help improve work incentives within the benefits system and reduce long-term economic inactivity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the heart of our reforms is the principle that those who can work should work, but if you need help into work the government should support you, and those who can’t work should be supported to live with dignity.
We’ve recently published draft regulations on our Right to Try guarantee, which will give disabled people the confidence to try work and, in July, the Universal Credit Act provided for the first ever, sustained rise in the standard allowance of Universal Credit, benefitting millions of those on the lowest incomes. We have also introduced reforms through the Universal Credit Act 2025, to rebalance support within UC, to address perverse incentives and better encourage those who can work to enter or return to employment. We have also put in place the equivalent of over 1000 full-time Pathways to Work advisers, offering tailored support to support people into work across Britain and we have begun testing our new support conversation.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on introducing a new contributory benefit in Great Britain, provisionally called ‘Unemployment Insurance’ (UI). The introduction of UI would simplify the contributory system by removing the distinction between jobseekers and those considered unable to work
Introducing UI would also improve the income protection available to people who lose their job to give people the time and space to find the right job, while time-limiting that entitlement to create a strong incentive to return to the labour market.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to expand apprenticeship opportunities in high-demand sectors.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer which will deliver greater flexibility for employers and learners, and support the industrial strategy. At Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced additional investment of £725m to deliver the next phase of the Growth and Skills Levy.
In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, such as construction and health and social care, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
We recently announced that the next wave of foundation apprenticeships would be rolled out in sectors such as retail and hospitality.
From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2025 on Support for Young People, HCWS1137, and the ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, what modelling his Department has done of employer demand for 16–24-year-old apprentices in each region; what steps he is taking to ensure the new funding does not displace existing apprenticeship opportunities; and whether he will publish the evidence base underpinning the expansion of foundation apprenticeships into lower-wage sectors such as retail and hospitality.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
From the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for all eligible people aged under 25 at non-levy paying employers, essentially small and medium sized enterprises. Currently, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. This change will make it easier for those employers, who take on a high proportion of young apprentices, to engage with apprenticeships by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers. It is backed by the additional £725m of funding for the Growth and Skills Levy announced at the Autumn Budget.
As apprenticeships are jobs with training, uptake is subject to employer demand and also learners choosing to undertake apprenticeships. The department encourages both through its facilitation of the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network which operates across all English regions. The network has around 2,500 volunteers, comprising employers and apprentices, who support small businesses to recruit and retain apprentices, and to go into schools and colleges to promote the benefits of apprenticeships for young people.
To support our ambition of 50,000 more young people undertaking apprenticeships, we are also expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people such as hospitality and retail. As we develop and implement the reformed Growth and Skills offer, including the rollout of foundation apprenticeships, the government engages regularly with employers and their representative organisations. The department also works closely with Skills England to identify sectors where there is employer demand for foundation apprenticeships and where foundation apprenticeships will be suitable and have clear progression routes.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2025 on Support for Young People, HCWS1137, what assessment he has made of the readiness of Jobcentre Plus districts across the West Midlands, including Walsall and the Birmingham & Solihull pilot area, to deliver the Youth Guarantee Gateway and associated Youth Hubs; and if he will publish regional delivery plans setting out staffing requirements, partnership capacity and projected caseloads in each local authority.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee, to ensure that all 16–24-year-olds in Great Britain can access support to find work, training, or an apprenticeship. We have launched Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announced funding to almost double our Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and we recently launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.
We are now going further through an expansion of the Youth Guarantee. This expansion is backed by a £820 million investment over the Spending Review period to reach almost 900,000 young people, including through Youth Hubs in every area in Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24 –year-olds on Universal Credit. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training and provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.
The national rollout of the Youth Guarantee Gateway will start in April 2026 and follow a phased implementation to ensure adequate provision and infrastructure are in place to meet demand.
Detailed planning is underway to deliver both the Youth Guarantee Gateway and expansion of Youth Hubs. The Government will ensure Jobcentres are resourced to deliver the Youth Guarantee.
DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.
We have established Youth Hubs already set up in the West Midlands.
The West Midlands is a Youth Guarantee trailblazer area working in partnership with seven local authorities and a network of providers, to provide programmes focusing on subsidised Work Experience, pre-apprenticeship training and NEET prevention.