County Councillor Julie Gibson, the Lancashire County Labour Group Shadow Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, has called on Government to work with local councils to implement its new “kickstart” scheme.

The Government recently announced £2billion of public spending to help target growing youth unemployment, and she told QLocal yesterday: “Under the scheme, employers can offer young people who are in receipt of universal credit a six month placement with the Government paying 100% of the age relevant national minimum wage, NI and pension contributions for up to 25 hours a week.

“In West Lancashire, youth unemployment between 18-24 years old currently stands at 6.5% (most recent figures July 2020), an increase from 4.8% from the last quarter (April 2020), and any initiatives to tackle this are to be welcomed.

"However, the programme is still short on detail and I would like the government to give further clarity on how it will promote the scheme and how we can ensure that these jobs are genuinely new roles.

“Ten years ago, I was involved in the roll-out of the Labour Government’s 'Future Jobs Fund'. One of the reasons for its success was the partnership working with small businesses, employers, local community organisations, but more importantly the backing of local authorities. With this joint approach we could ensure that the jobs were quality jobs that targeted young people most in need of assistance.

“Young people will feel the effects of recession more acutely than many others. Billions of pounds of public money is being poured into 'Kickstart'. If it is to work we must create a genuine partnership approach to ensure it creates meaningful job opportunities for young people across West Lancashire,” she concluded.