Lisa Nandy MP: This Government’s ‘youth guarantee’ will give young people in Wigan the opportunities they need to get into work
Labour has announced new measures to support 16-24-year-olds across the UK. By expanding its Youth Guarantee Scheme with £820 million of new funding the Government is tackling the problem and giving a brighter future to young people across our town.
Labour’s investment will pay for new Youth Hubs to be set up across local communities. Youth Hubs are centres that offer lifechanging support to young people such as CV advice, skills training, mental health support, housing advice and careers guidance.
The package will also provide hundreds of thousands of new training and work experience placements for young people out of work and claiming benefits and a new ‘Jobs Guarantee’ that fully subsidises six months of paid employment for 18-21 year-olds who are long-term unemployed and on Universal Credit.
These measures will provide critical help for the more than 500 young people in Wigan who are claiming unemployment-related benefits – enabling them to get on in life and contribute to the local economy.
This announcement is a commitment to invest in and provide proper support for thousands of young people in our country. It represents our determination both to ensure there is opportunity for everyone no matter where they are born and to challenge the complete neglect and indifference with which young people were treated under the last Government.
Too many young people in Wigan and across the country are being held back. They have been written off without hope of taking that vital step into employment or training. So as we go forward with our plan to get Britain working, our Youth Guarantee will make sure no young person is left behind.
But I know that just as we expect young people to work and contribute to their communities and country, they rightly expect to be heard by their politicians. That is why I have spent the last year working with some incredible young people to create an ambitious new Youth Strategy.
It has been written by young people themselves and is backed by £500 million to fund new Youth Hubs and refurbish existing ones. I know from my many years of working with Wigan Youth Zone just how important it is to provide young people with a space they can call their own, and the amazing work they do deserves to be replicated across the country.
In no small part it was my experience of working with young people in Wigan since I was elected and in my previous role campaigning on behalf of vulnerable children at The Children's Society that provided the inspiration to give them the voice they deserve in Parliament, regardless of their backgrounds.
From votes at 16, supporting young people in their first steps into employment, guaranteeing world class mental health provision in every school and reversing the disastrous cuts to youth services, this Labour Government is delivering real change and we are proud of our commitment to put the next generation first.