Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of whether all adults who are (a) at risk of redundancy or (b) currently unemployed are identified as a priority for the National Careers Service.

The National Careers Service is available to everyone in England over the age of 13. People can access professional careers advice via the National Careers Service website, web chat or telephone-based advisers.

The National Careers Service works closely with the Department for Work and Pension’s rapid response redundancy services, to provide co-ordinated comprehensive support including skills assessments, careers workshops and mapping existing skills to new job opportunities.

In July, as part of our Plan for Jobs, the government announced an additional £32 million investment in the community based National Careers Service. This investment supports all adults affected by COVID-19, and prioritises from day one of their unemployment:

• 18-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
• Low-skilled adults without a level 2 qualification.
• Single parents with at least one dependent child living in the same household.
• Adults with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Adults aged 50 years and over who are unemployed or at demonstrable risk of unemployment.

In addition, the National Careers Service prioritises all adults who have been unemployed over 12 months.

We will continue to monitor performance of the National Careers Service and the support it provides, as we better understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.