House of Commons
15 October 2026
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House of Commons
Follow its sittings00:21 - 00:29
Speaker 6
Order, order. Questions to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Aphra Brandreth.
00:29 - 00:32
Con Member of Parliament | Chester South and Eddisbury
Member of Parliament | Chester South and Eddisbury Question number one, Madam Deputy Speaker.
00:32 - 01:04
Speaker 5
With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I shall answer questions one and five together. Everything my department does, from industrial strategy, small business support, trade and exports to innovation and science, has at the heart of it the creation of good jobs. In the UK, with the specific reference to jobs for young people, there are challenges, there is no doubt. But youth unemployment has shown to be outperforming comparable economies like France and Italy, and of course the government has a further agenda in this area.
01:04 - 01:45
Speaker 7
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The wonderful family-run ice cream farm in Tattenhall is one of our region's largest youth employers, giving many young people their very first job. But current rule limits children below school leaving age to just two hours' work on Sundays, even during school holidays. For rural businesses, where parents often have to drive considerable distances to get their kids to work, this simply isn't practical. Will the Secretary of State review this restriction while maintaining important safeguards so businesses like the ice cream farm can offer more young people that vital first work experience?
01:45 - 02:12
Speaker 4
I appreciate the honourable lady's question. It is a subject that has come up with me before, both on a constituency basis and as Secretary of State. I do think there's the potential to look at the regulations in this area. I don't think it's about any sort of sense of exploitation, but reasonable opportunities provided for young people in a way that can actually be what the young people themselves are desiring. So I promise I will go away and look at that and write to the honourable lady with further information.
02:12 - 02:38
Con Member of Parliament | Isle of Wight East
Member of Parliament | Isle of Wight East Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Jobs and opportunities for young people have dried up over the last two years because the government has made it more expensive to employ them. On the Isle of Wight, it's compounded our pre-existing structural problems. Will the government now do the right thing and halve National Insurance contributions for employing under-25s to help grow more opportunities and jobs for young people?
02:38 - 03:17
Speaker 5
I would say to the honourable gentleman, no one in this government is complacent about the challenges of youth unemployment, but there's been no spike in the figures since 2024. The rise has been consistent since 2022 in an entirely linear fashion. I would obviously remind him as well that he will know employers don't pay National Insurance on under-21-year-olds, they don't pay it for apprentices under the age of 25. So I think it's important to be clear on how this system works in relation to the challenges and how it feels it compounds challenges in his constituency. Of course there is a further agenda coming in this area through the Milburn review, a exciting set of proposals that I believe employers in his area will get behind if we make them a substantial offer.
03:17 - 03:49
Lab Member of Parliament | North West Leicestershire
Member of Parliament | North West Leicestershire Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It was my pleasure to host the British Retail Consortium in Parliament for their announcement of Opening Shift, a partnership between government and 40 retailers pledging over 11,000 work placements to help support young people who are not in education, training or employment into work. How could the Minister update me on progress for other retailers to get involved, but also how we could extend Opening Shift to ensure semi-rural constituencies like mine of North West Leicestershire can benefit?
03:49 - 04:29
Speaker 5
I commend my honourable friend for the work she's doing.
One of my first jobs as a young person was in Foster Menswear in Sunderland city centre. My performance was mixed, to be honest, but it was an important set of skills to learn. I believe that is a sector that is known for the opportunities it provides for young people. The honorable friend will know there is already a set of proposals from the government in terms of not just the tax as it relates to national insurance, but also incentives to take young people into employment if they've been out of work for a period of time or into an apprenticeship if they're in that age cohort. There's more we can do in this area, but there is an offer there and she's doing the right thing by highlighting that to businesses in her constituency.