The ‘Young people and work: interim report’ by Alan Milburn estimated that in England out of 678,000 18- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, around 314,000 were not claiming any benefits in the financial year ending 2024, the latest period for which an estimate is available. These analytical findings can be found here: Young people and work: interim report analytical annex - GOV.UK.

As of March 2026, across Great Britain, there are now over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

We are testing changes to the Jobcentre Plus environment to make it more welcoming for customers. We are exploring how services can be delivered in community settings, including via vans, pop-ups and collaboration with partner services. We are introducing trauma-informed approaches across the DWP, and all frontline DWP colleagues are trained to identify and support vulnerable customers. As part of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are shifting the focus of the customer-work coach relationship away from compliance and box-ticking to more personalised, and career-focused discussions. We are testing this in our first Pathfinder, based in Wakefield.

We are building towards a guaranteed Pathways to Work offer of personalised employment, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We have also launched the Timms Review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future. We are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. Once in place, the Review’s steering group will agree the approach to considering evidence and gathering input.

• The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits is falling. 1.69 million people claimed unemployment-related benefits in September 2025 – down 73,000 on a year earlier.
• The government is committed to ensuring that people have access to good, meaningful work. This involves adapting to structural changes in the labour market, now and over the longer-term.
• There are suggestions from some firms, mainly in the tech sector, that hiring patterns are changing due to greater use of AI, but at this stage it’s unclear how widespread this is and how much of a factor this is compared to broader factors affecting employment more generally.

• DWP has a strong track record of providing financial help during economic shifts and supporting people to re-skill (where needed) and to re-enter work. We are continuing to deliver our Get Britain Working reforms to ensure we provide people with access to good work and training opportunities fit for the future.
• DWP is also working across government to ensure that we are able to respond to emerging trends within the labour market, and to make the most of opportunities for economic growth, job creation and productivity.

The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department for Work and Pensions is therefore committed to supporting older people through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression. This includes promoting age-inclusive practices, supporting workplace health, policy and service reform and removing age related barriers to employment. The Department has also signed up to and actively promotes the Age-Friendly Employer Pledge, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working, age-positive hiring, and career development.

Our Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.

We are taking a test and learn approach to developing the new service, working in an agile and flexible way. This will allow us to hear from a range of organisations and perspectives, as we develop the new service.

The DWP’s Strategic Relationship Team is actively engaging trade bodies and strategic employers across priority sectors, such as clean energy, digital, hospitality and construction, through innovation workshops, tailored recruitment pilots, and sector-led initiatives to promote DWP as the recruitment partner of choice and expand inclusive employment opportunities.

Since the launch of the Midlife MOT, we have reached older people through multiple channels to help them assess their health, finances and skills.

The Private Sector Midlife MOT pilot programmes concluded at the end of June 2024 and the evaluation can be found here: Private Sector Midlife MOT Pilots qualitative research interim findings - GOV.UK. The evaluation report on the JCP Midlife MOT was published in September 2025: Jobcentre Plus Midlife MOT qualitative research - GOV.UK. We have other evaluation work in progress covering a range of 50 plus policies, with a synthesis of evaluation findings which we are currently planning to publish next year.

Our new Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.

Paragraph 5.35 of the Spending Review document, published on 11 June, sets out the overall financial allocation for policing in England in Wales.

It is up to Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to make decisions on local resourcing and estates, including police stations. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

The Home Office plans to publish a Police Reform White Paper later this year. It will set out a comprehensive package of reforms to policing in England and Wales that will drive quality, consistency and efficiency and ensure that all police forces are equipped to deliver the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and Plan for Change.

We have been working closely with policing in the development of these important reforms. The new Joint Home Office and Policing Reform Team, which includes secondees from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and other policing organisations, have been closely involved in helping to shape the police reform proposals and development of the White Paper.

Decisions on operational equipment are made independently by police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs while ensuring they have the tools necessary to protect the public.

The Government takes national and cyber security extremely seriously and regularly reviews risks, including from Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) have issued guidance for security professionals across public and private sector organisations on the appropriate security measures which should be taken to manage potential security risks via UAS technologies, including drones.

Firearms licensing fees have not been increased since 2015 and are now significantly less than the cost of the service provided by the police.

The Government’s Manifesto includes a commitment to move to full cost recovery for firearms licensing fees, and moving to full cost recovery will help protect the public by providing police forces with the funding they need to properly resource and train their firearms licensing teams, and to carry out thorough checks and continuous assessment of the suitability of someone to possess a lethal firearm.

The 1982 Act gives local authorities who adopt the legislation the ability to regulate lap dancing clubs as sexual entertainment venues. Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (legislation.gov.uk)