Michael was delighted to be able to ask a question of the First Secretary of State at Prime Minister's questions last week. The Prime Minister herself was away, and Michael took the opportunity to raise the importance of getting Young People into work. Michael is the Chairman of the Youth Employment All Party Group which aims to promote youth employment in all its forms and the role of young people within the economy.
He asked " Today’s jobs figures show that we have the highest employment rate since comparable records began. We have more people in full-time employment, and we are touching on the lowest youth unemployment since records began. In the light of the Matthew Taylor review of modern working practices, what more can be done to ensure that that record continues, and that we continue to rid the country of the scourge of long-term youth unemployment?"
The First Secretary responded:
"My hon. Friend is exactly right, specifically on the subject of youth unemployment. One of the particularly welcome figures among the consistently low and falling unemployment figures over which this Government have presided is the fact that youth unemployment is now at historically low levels and lower than in many other comparable economies. We will continue this in this Parliament, not just with our moves on more apprenticeships, but with the introduction of new and better technical and vocational education, which is key to providing long-term prosperity not just for the economy as a whole, but for everyone in this country."