Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support the roll-out of youth hubs in a) Oxford East constituency, b) Oxfordshire, and c) England.

The Government is committed to reducing the number of young people who are not in Education, Training or Employment.

We have already taken the first steps towards delivering the Youth Guarantee, to ensure that all 16–24-year-olds in Great Britain can access support to find work, training, or an apprenticeship. This includes launching Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announcing funding to almost double our Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and commissioning 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, backed by a £820 million investment over the next three years. This will reach almost 900,000 young people, including through the expansion of Youth Hubs to every area in Great Britain and the introduction of 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 additional opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.

Young people in Oxford East are already supported through the Rose Hill Youth Hub, which offers job clubs, employability advice, mental health links, and employer-led events in partnership with Oxford City Council and Jobcentre Plus.

Across Oxfordshire, Jobcentre Plus works with partners such as Abingdon and Witney College, Activate Learning, The Ethnic Minority Business Service, and Ruskin College to deliver tailored employability and sector-specific skills programmes aligned to local employer needs. This work is supported by the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership through initiatives like employer engagement days.

As per our ambition to expand Youth Hubs to every area of Great Britain over the next three years, we will work with partners in West and South Oxfordshire to explore new opportunities.