Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help reduce youth unemployment rates in Surrey Heath constituency.

As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we will also be launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.

DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

One such provision is our DWP Youth Hubs. The Surrey Heath Youth Hub provides employability support, mental health support and confidence building sessions, and also works alongside partners such as Surrey Young People’s Fund and Surrey Choices. Surrey Young People’s Fund provides funding for disadvantaged young people aged 16-25, who are resident in Surrey, to assist them in moving towards an identified goal in education, training, apprenticeship, or employment. Surrey Choices offer specialised programmes for young people aged 16-24 with a range of support needs – the aim of these programmes is to prepare disabled, neurodivergent and autistic people for work.