Government to pay for at least 25 hours’ work a week at minimum wage for trainingpublished at 09:25 GMT
09:25 GMT
First up is Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, who is asked how many jobs the government’s youth guarantee scheme will create.
The £800m scheme is designed to counter a “sharp rise” in youth unemployment, he says.
McFadden says the scheme will “give intensive advice” to 900,000 people and offer work experience or training to 300,000 people.
There will be 55,000 subsidised job offers for those who “don’t get the job through the training”, he adds.
“The youth guarantee is a strong offer of help to hundreds of thousands of young people,” he says. “It’s saying to young people: we believe in you, we have faith in you.”
McFadden says “there’s no reason” why employers wouldn’t sign up to offer training, as the government will pay for at least 25 hours’ work a week at minimum wage.
He also notes that young people will lose benefits if they fail to engage with the programme “without good reason”.