Peers call for investment in EU Youth Guarantee

The House of Lords European Union (EU) Committee has criticised the government for investing the money in domestic measures such as the Youth Contract, which has placed just five 16- and 17-year-olds since its eligibility criteria was extended in January last year.

Instead, it wants the government to adopt and invest in the EU Youth Guarantee, which ensures that all jobless young people under 25 are offered employment, education or training within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.

The initiative was adopted by the European Council in 2013 and is supported by the EU’s pledge to spend €8bn on tackling youth unemployment by 2020.

The committee wants the government to pilot the initiative in five areas, including Merseyside and the West Midlands, where levels of youth unemployment are more than 25 per cent.

In addition, it is calling on the government to invest some of the funding in traditional face-to-face careers advice.

The committee has made the recommendations following its review of the state of youth unemployment across Europe, which found that young people have been “scarred” by joblessness.

Baroness O’Cathain, chair of the committee, said that more needs to be done to support young people seeking work.

She said: “Our report looked at ways in which EU funding could be better used to help get young people into work and we believe that the government should rethink its centralised approach to spending EU money, and that instead it should tap into the expertise of local organisations.

“We would also encourage the UK government and other member state governments to use European money to establish new initiatives and learn from other countries.

“The government thinks it knows best in this area, but we believe that not introducing a youth guarantee is unwise.

“We would urge the government to sign up to the EU Youth Guarantee instead of putting the money towards existing domestic initiatives.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said that youth unemployment is falling.

She said: “Supporting young people to get their foot in the door and have the skills they need for the future as the economy grows is a key part of our long-term economic plan.

“Already, the number of young people in jobs is going up, youth unemployment is dropping and the number of young jobseekers on benefits has been falling for the past 21 months.

“Our schemes have already offered around 200,000 opportunities to young people to try their hand in different industries, but there is always more to do.”

The committee’s recommendations form part of a new report on the issue.