Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department offers to people aged (a) 16-24 and (b) over 25 in (i) Coventry North East constituency and (ii) Coventry who have been out of work for (A) more than 6 months and (B) more than 12 months.

Through our Plan for Jobs, the Department is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers. Currently, support includes the Kickstart scheme, Job Finding Support, Sector Based Work Academy Programmes and Job Entry Targeted Support. In addition, the Work and Heath Programme, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, is available to support disabled people and people with long term health conditions, to enter and stay in work.

To support the long term unemployed, £2.9 billion is being invested in the Restart Programme, which is due to go live from summer 2021. The Restart Programme will support individuals who have been unemployed for 12 months and over and through regular, personalised support providers will work with participants to identify the best way to support them into sustained employment.

The Jobcentre team in Coventry work with many local training providers and the Coventry City Council Jobshop to support the ‘Building Better Opportunities’ programmes for the longer term unemployed and those further from the labour market. They have worked with Coventry City Council to develop a Youth Hub which provides outreach support for young people in Coventry, and are working with them to fund ‘Ambition’ work coaches from community hubs across Coventry to support young people with significant complex needs and barriers.

In addition, the Jobcentre team have partnered with local employers and organisations to deliver a number of successful Sector Based Work Academy Programmes, across multiple sectors, which are available to all claimants irrespective of age or length of unemployment