Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to ensure that long-term unemployed people in Dudley benefit from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games provide a unique and significant opportunity to accelerate employment and skills opportunities for residents across the West Midlands. The government is working closely with our Games partners to ensure we make the most of these opportunities.

The West Midlands Combined Authority has recently launched a Commonwealth Games Jobs and Skills Academy which seeks to link West Midlands residents to the thousands of training, volunteering and employment opportunities that the Games will create, with a focus on the most vulnerable at risk groups, including the long-term unemployed.

We are working with the local Chamber of Commerce's and other West Midlands business groups to promote procurement opportunities locally.