L

Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 24 March 2026

Debate

Youth Unemployment

Contribution

My Lords, I first welcome this Statement. It is not only important but long overdue in the face of the facts the Minister gave, including the fact she confirmed that take-up of apprenticeships has fallen by 40% over the last decade. If we are going to address that issue, I urge her to avoid what has been suggested is a binary choice between government assistance and the market. A modern economy requires both. Yes, they have to be balanced, but it is a nonsense to argue that somehow, if we left everything up to the market, then that would solve the problems. That is patently not true; there is about 300 years of evidence to disprove it. I therefore ask the Minister to expand on how the assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises will help them to employ people and thus address the problem of NEETs—young people not in education, employment or training—because that is the kernel of the issue that the country faces.

More from Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

Partner sites