Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to address rising economic inactivity among young people aged 16 to 24.

The government is committed to delivering targeted support for all young people, no matter what their start in life or the challenges they face, to give them the best chance of getting into and progressing in work.

While there has been an increase in economic inactivity among young people, this is largely been driven by an increase in young people in full time education. As part of our work to support young people we regularly assess their situation and develop support which best serves their needs in the moment, as we did when we developed the Kickstart Scheme with the aim of protecting young people from the scarring effects of long-term unemployment.

Youth employability coaches who support young people with multiple barriers in to work already have the flexibility to agree with the young person up to six weeks, in work support and through the in-work progression offer we will also be looking at how we can support young people who are working to progress and develop their careers.