Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 20
3rd Report - Youth employment, education and training
Published 22 Jul 2026
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Youth employment, education and training All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
England’s apprenticeship system is complex and difficult for employers to understand. The government must do more to communicate how it works and help employers understand the opportunities available. In its response, 46 DWP should explain what steps it will take to improve awareness and understanding of apprenticeships, including how the growth and skills levy operates. (Recommendation, Paragraph 120)
From: Work and Pensions Committee, 3rd Report - Youth employment, education and training (HC 180), 22 July 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 15 October 2026 (deadline 22 September 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts two of the Committee's recommendations on the Youth Guarantee and apprenticeship awareness, partially accepts others, does not accept the National Insurance proposal, and defers several matters until the final Milburn report is published.
- On extending the National Insurance Upper Secondary Threshold to all under-25s, the government says "Do not accept", citing the need to restore the public finances and existing employer National Insurance reliefs for young people.
- On a youth employment strategy, the response says "Revisit when Milburn is published" and commits to publish "a full response to Alan Milburn's review in due course".
- On a 10-year minimum funding level, it says "Revisit once Milburn is published", stating that committing to long-term spending for a specific issue outside the Spending Review cycle "would reduce the credibility of any spending plans".
- On a Jobs Guarantee cost benefit analysis, it partially accepts: one will be included in the wider evaluation, but it is "not committing at this stage" to analysis of different periods of unemployment before referral.