Lauren Edwards MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Mar 2026 · Unemployment · Hansard source

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  Net migration has fallen to the lowest level since 2021, which will have a significant impact on our labour market and economy if we do not train and support unemployed people in the UK into jobs in key sectors. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to target back-to-work programmes, especially those for young people who are not in work, education or training, to fill skills shortages in crucial areas such as health and social care?

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chancellor for her statement, and welcome the OBR forecast that unemployment will fall to 4.1% by the end of the current Parliament. No doubt that will have been driven by excellent policies such as the youth guarantee and the apprenticeship reforms. The NEET rate remains stubbornly high, though, so may I urge the Chancellor to target any additional headroom that may be available at helping more young people into work and training? Investing in young people is good for them, good for society and good for the UK’s finances, and it is also the best way in which to reduce our welfare bill in the long term.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Prisoner Rehabilitation: Education and Training · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for the work he is doing in prisons to improve literacy, but last week the Government confirmed to the Justice Committee that core prison education provision has been cut by a quarter nationally under retendered contracts. The independent monitoring board recently raised concerns about the impact that that will have in prisons, including Rochester prison in my constituency, on prisoner rehabilitation. We know that stable work is one of the top factors in preventing male prisoners from reoffending, so education and training are therefore key to reducing our prison population in the long term. How will the Minister ensure that this will remain a priority?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Prisoner Rehabilitation: Education and Training · Hansard source

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  6. What steps he is taking to ensure that education and training programmes support the rehabilitation of people leaving prison.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. There is concern in the hospitality industry that the Government are reviewing funding for some important level 3 and level 4 apprenticeships, such as those used to train chefs. Hospitality is a key means by which we can tackle the challenge for those not in education, employment or training, but to deliver positive long-term change, we must have an apprenticeship system that allows young people to progress, rather than just giving them a foot in the door. May I urge the Minister to continue to support these apprenticeships, which should be a high priority for both our labour market and our economy?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Welfare Spending: Economic Impact · Hansard source

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  Around 600 young people in Rochester and Strood are claiming unemployment benefits; many more are NEETs—not in education, employment or training—and are not known to the Department for Work and Pensions. Does the Minister agree that the best way to improve their futures and reduce the welfare bill in the long term is through targeted support programmes, such as the youth guarantee, which will get them into good, stable jobs and off benefits?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) for securing the debate. As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for skills, careers and employment, I have chaired several evidence sessions over the last year of a skills commission inquiry into the root causes of our worryingly high NEET rates. We engaged with more than 200 participants across a six-month period, and are due to publish our findings and recommendations shortly, but I appreciate the opportunity to talk about them briefly today. We have explored a lot of the reasons why we are in this position, but it is notable that other countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, have not seen similar rises in their NEET rates. I will mention a few of the drivers. Under the last Government, schools were incentivised to abandon vocational, technical and creative courses in favour of more academic options. That has had an impact by limiting choice and options. The system has also failed to properly target young people, with entry-level apprenticeships falling by 26% since the apprenticeship levy was introduced. The careers guidance landscape has become fragmented, with many young people not being told about apprenticeship or traineeship opportunities, and a cliff edge for careers support post-16. One of our major conclusions is that targeted and preventive support works and is good for the public purse in the long term. We need better data sharing to identify young people at risk; early support to tackle mental health challenges, wellbeing and job readiness; local discretion to tailor support to local needs; and, most importantly, in-work mentoring for around six months into employment—not just job placement. We must also think about how we can support small and medium-sized enterprises to recruit apprentices and invest in the skills of their workforce. That is particularly important in my constituency, so I welcome the Chancellor’s transformational announcement today about making training for apprenticeships for under-25s free for SMEs.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the Government’s continued commitment to promoting vocational and technical education, which is welcome. Can she outline how the White Paper will address the capacity issues that a lot of colleges and sixth forms are experiencing, including in my constituency? That will help us get that NEET rate down.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Work for Serving Prisoners · Hansard source

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  I completely agree that all the evidence points towards the need to invest in prison training and employment programmes to reduce reoffending. Doing so is good for society and for the public purse, but does my hon. Friend agree that we should reform the system to support shorter, more modular learning in our prisons, in line with the Government’s approach to the growth and skills levy? Rochester prison in my constituency runs a successful stonemasonry course, but the length of time it takes—18 months—makes it difficult for prisoners to complete it, due to shorter sentences, prisoner moves across the prison estate, and early release.

• 15 Jul 2025 · SEND Provision: South-east England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward, and I thank the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) for securing this really important debate. We all know that too many children are being failed by a system that is under-resourced and facing unprecedented demand. Policy failures over many years have meant that parents and carers often see little option but to fight for an EHCP, as that is considered the only way to secure the wraparound support that their child needs. Who would not fight for their child? But we are in the worst of all worlds, where few are content with the current state of the SEND system in Kent and Medway, and across the wider south-east. Before I highlight some examples of how the system is not working in Medway, I pay tribute to all the professionals working in the sector, whose passion is to support children and young people to get the help they need. The system is really letting them down, too. Years of chronic underfunding of local government under the previous Government, combined with a surge in demand, have created a perfect storm, which is contributing to pushing many of our councils in the south-east to the brink financially. In Rochester and Strood, SEND is the second main reason, after housing issues, why constituents contact me. Parents and carers are waiting years for a SEND diagnosis. Children are languishing on waiting lists while their future life opportunities are being impacted, because they are not getting the support they need to fulfil their potential. One issue that I will highlight in particular, as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for skills, careers and employment, is the difficulty that lots of councils have in recruiting enough educational psychologists, because of funding cuts in previous years for educational psychology degrees. The same applies across many sectors of our economy; we are simply not investing enough in the staff we need to perform the critical functions in our society, such as the professionals employed in our SEND system. That and other factors lead to excessive delays in EHCPs being finalised, often well beyond the legal deadline. I have recently been contacted by parents in my constituency who have experienced a 62-week delay, which is beyond the 20-week legal deadline for issuing an EHCP for their child. I am sure that that is by no means a unique example. We know that this situation is taking a toll on children in terms of their emotional wellbeing and high anxiety levels. It also has an impact on parents and their ability to work. Recent polling from Sense found that two in five parents with a disabled child are educating their child at home due to a lack of appropriate provision. The system is failing and it is incumbent on all of us to challenge it. I welcome the Government’s commitment to reform. I understand that this has created some anxieties, so I welcome the comments from Ministers in recent weeks, and I look forward to hearing further comments from the Minister today to allay any concerns. In conclusion, I emphasise that we must improve the quality of SEND provision and make sure that no child is left behind. We particularly need to focus on early intervention, as others have said, on better-equipped teachers and teaching assistants in mainstream schools, and on the needs of individual children, rather than diagnosis. I particularly look forward to the recommendations from the Education Committee, which is conducting a very comprehensive review into this topic.