Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Learning and Work Institute Crisis in the Capital, published on 27 October; and what steps they are taking to create new jobs in London.

The Government is working closely with the Greater London Authority (GLA) and London Councils to support the London Recovery Plan, mapping employment and skills support to provide a coordinated skills and employment support package across the capital. DWP is also working with the Mayor’s Construction Academy to promote the opportunities in this sector as well as supporting GLA initiatives in the creative sector.

The Flexible Support Fund is available to support the unemployed to get back into work and DWP are working with individual London Boroughs using partnership grants to support initiatives to get people back into work.

We will review the report from the Learning and Work Institute and consider its findings.

Further to this through this Government’s Plan for Jobs, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer set out a plan to support jobs focussing on skills and young people. This includes:

• A new £2bn Kickstart Scheme to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 claiming Universal Credit across England. Funding is available for six-month job placements will cover 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week – and employers will be able to top this wage up. There is no cap on the number of places available.
• Recruiting 13,500 work coaches to more than double the number of work coaches across the country - as well as putting in place a package of support to ensure young people have the skills and training to go on to high quality, secure and fulfilling employment.

• A new payment of £2,000 to employers in London and across England for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and a £1,500 payment for each new apprentice they hire aged 25 and over, from 1 August 2020 to 31 January 2021. Employers can start claiming for payments from 1 September.
• £111m is being invested to triple the scale of traineeships: with three times more funding available to providers in 2020-21 to support 30,000 new places. We have also introduced – for the first time - payments of £1,000 per trainee for employers who offer new or additional work placements (up to 10 trainees).
• Apprenticeship opportunities will also be increased, with more funding for SMEs taking on apprentices, and greater flexibility in how their training is structured – especially in sectors such as construction and creative industries where there are more varied employment patterns.
• Through the Government’s Local Growth Fund, the London Local Enterprise Action Partnership will deliver approximately 11,649 jobs and apprenticeships in London through the lifetime of the programme (15-21). The Fund will also help upskill 27,106 learners in London.