Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) financial, and (2) training, support they are providing to British national (overseas) (BNOs) citizens born after 1997 to help them enter the UK job market.

The British National (overseas) (BNOs) Welcome Programme was launched in April 2021, providing a UK-wide support package that comprises an easily accessible universal offer and targeted support for those most in need. The universal offer is open to all BN(O) visa holders in the UK and includes a network of 12 virtual Welcome Hubs across the UK, funding for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to deliver national and regional projects and a comprehensive Welcome Pack on GOV.UK.

The Programme also funds targeted support, provided by local authorities, on a demand-led basis for individuals requiring additional assistance in English language provision and destitution support. Although, the BN(O) visa has the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) condition attached, any BN(O) visa holder who finds themselves destitute or at risk of destitution may apply for their NRPF status to be lifted to allow them to access financial assistance.

The Programme also funds VCSE organisations at a national and regional level to provide employability support for BN(O)s visa holders. VCSE organisations have facilitated seminars, one to one coaching sessions and entrepreneur networking events to boost skills, confidence and provide interview practice to help BN(O) visa holders obtain employment in line with their experience. Furthermore, estimates are that over 60,000 individual instances of support by our funded VCSE organisations have been delivered over the first 5 months. The list of VCSE organisations funded by HMG can be found (attached) here.