Lauren Edwards MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The James Williams healthy living centre recently opened in Chatham town centre in my constituency. It means that more of my constituents can receive care closer to home, rather than travelling to the other end of Medway to visit the hospital. May I invite the Secretary of State to attend its official opening in the summer, so he can see at first hand the fantastic new facilities?

• 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?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Violence Against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her response. Earlier this week, I attended a local multi-agency roundtable on tackling violence against women to discuss how we can work together better to support victims, and I have reflected on what I heard from a very brave constituent who shared her story. Will the Minister set out how the Government will improve the experience of women like her, who need not only better support to access legal aid and bring the perpetrators to justice, but longer-term support as they navigate custody issues, mental health challenges and the significant impact that domestic violence has on children?

• 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.