Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has set a target for the number of job starts to be offered to long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit in Birmingham and Solihull during the first 6 months of the Jobs Guarantee scheme.

The government is investing over £1.5 billion in tackling youth unemployment and inactivity, including £820 million for the expanded Youth Guarantee and £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. This will provide young people aged 16–24 with greater support into work and learning, including a Jobs Guarantee offering fully subsidised paid work for every 18–21-year-old on Universal Credit for 18 months.

In line with the Government’s December 2025 announcement, the Jobs Guarantee will begin its rollout from Spring 2026 in 6 areas which have some of the highest need, including Birmingham and Solihull.

The first 6 months of the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide over 1000 job starts across the 6 areas.

National roll-out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain will take place later in 2026. The programme is expected to support around 55,000 young people over the next three years, contributing to this government’s long-term ambition to increase employment and reduce long-term youth unemployment.

This Government is taking action to ensure young people have clear pathways into work, with opportunities that build skills, confidence and long-term employability.

In addition, through the expanded Youth Guarantee, we are creating around 300,000 additional opportunities for young people to gain workplace experience and training.

This includes up to 150,000 extra work experience placements and up to 145,000 bespoke training opportunities designed with employers through our Sector based Work Academy Programmes, or SWAPs. These programmes provide young people with real, practical experience linked to vacancies in priority sectors, improving their prospects of moving quickly into work.