PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Employment: North West (6 October 2020)

In its Plan for Jobs, the Government has announced unprecedented support to help unemployed people in Great Britain find a job. We are providing £1.2bn to significantly expand and enhance work search support, including doubling the number of work coaches, additional investment into the Flexible Support Fund to provide direct support at a local level, and using externally contracted provision to expand support even further.

Recognising that young people are particularly at risk, the government has also launched a new £2bn Kickstart Scheme, creating hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across Great Britain, as well as a guaranteed foundation of support to all 18-24 year olds on Universal Credit in the Intensive Worksearch group, through its new youth offer.

The support is available across Great Britain, including the Stockport constituency and the North West region. As of August 2020, approximately 330,000 people are receiving worksearch support through Universal Credit and Jobseeker's Allowance in the North West. The support includes measures, such as the Flexible Support Fund, that will be delivered at a local level through DWP’s extensive network of over 600 Job Centre Plus branches. This means the additional discretionary support work coaches have to remove barriers to work will be allocated based on local needs. The Rapid Response Service can also be rapidly mobilised anywhere in the country and is based on understanding of local labour market.