Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support entry-level employment opportunities for young people in the hospitality sector.

I recognise that the hospitality sector offers significant entry-level opportunities for young people. My department is working closely with UKHospitality, the trade body for the sector, to deliver Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) to 26 areas across the country. These SWAPs offer training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview to those ready to start a job, and participants that complete the programme gain the Hospitality Skills Passport which provides proof that a person is qualified to perform their job effectively and safely, giving them a universal entry standard into the sector.

A number of these SWAPs have already been delivered, most notably in coastal areas with high levels of deprivation such as Blackpool and Margate.

From April 2021 to June 2025 DWP delivered a total of 30,180 Hospitality SWAP starts across the country.