Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the economic cost of youth unemployment in terms of (a) lost national output, (b) lost tax revenue and (c) higher welfare spending in each of the last three years; and what fiscal steps her Department is taking to reduce youth unemployment in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England.

No estimate has been made.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to supporting everyone who has been affected by the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the labour market. We want everyone to be able to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market, whoever they are and wherever they live.

Through Plan for Jobs, the government invested £30bn in measures to create, support and protect jobs. This included over £3bn investment in the Kickstart programme for young people and an additional 13,500 Work Coaches in our Jobcentres, as well as other measures focussed on boosting work search, skills and apprenticeships.