Chris Huhne

Getting young people earning or learning – Huhne

Today [Tuesday] the Liberal Democrats will announce funding of £8,854,098 to get young people in the South East who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), earning or learning again.

As part of the Youth Contract, the Coalition Government will, for the first time, target funding through tailored support on a payment-by-results system to 16 and 17-year-olds with no GCSEs at A* – C who are at the highest risk of long-term disengagement.

Commenting, local Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne said:

“Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are doing the right thing and supporting young people in Hampshire who have had difficulty finding a job or training when they’ve left school.

“Today’s announcement will ensure they receive personal, targeted support from experts to help them develop the confidence and skills that the need to stay in education or find a job.

“Youth unemployment is a slow burn social disaster so it’s right that although money is tight, the Coalition Government is prioritising investment in the Youth Contract to get young people earning or learning.”

 

Commenting further, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg said:

“Sitting at home with nothing to do when you’re so young can knock the stuffing out of you for years. It is a tragedy for the young people involved and a ticking time bomb for the economy and our society as a whole. This problem isn’t new, but in the current economic climate we urgently need to step up efforts to ensure some of our most troubled teenagers have the skills, confidence and opportunities to succeed.

“Many of them will have complex problems: truancy, teenage pregnancy, a lack of GCSEs and health problems. So helping them onto their feet will not be without challenges and Government cannot do this alone. But we all have a duty to reach out to the young people who can be hardest to reach. That’s why today I am calling on charities and other organisations at the coal face to work with Government to help tens of thousands of lost teenagers onto a brighter path.”

 

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors:

 

1. South East defined as South East (B) Local Authorities: Bracknell Forest, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham
2. The Youth Contract, launched last November by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, aims to lift all young people out of unemployment. Key features include:

• Cash payments to encourage employers to recruit young people.
• An extra 250,000 work experience places over the next three years.
• At least 20,000 extra incentive payments worth £1,500 each for employers to take on young people as apprentices.
• Extra support through Jobcentre Plus in the form of weekly, rather than fortnightly, signing-on meetings, more time to talk to an adviser and a National Careers Service interview

For more information on the Youth Contract, visit: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2011/nov-2011/dwp132-11.shtml

3. In England, the Government is making £126m of new money available to give teenagers opportunities to train, work and get their lives on track. Help will focus on at least 55,000 young people – those 16- and 17-year-old NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) with no GCSEs at A* – C at the highest risk of long-term disengagement.