T7. [93028] Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): What can the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills do to support the more than 1,500 community-led work clubs across the country to help young adults to recognise the apprenticeship opportunities that exist, ensure that further education colleges can provide training opportunities for those out of work, and link in the national careers service?

Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the £25 million that is being made available for 10,000 advanced and higher apprenticeships is welcome not only because it will help to rebalance the economy towards manufacturing, but because it will provide a number of skilled jobs for young people? Is not the challenge now to encourage employers to take up and offer those apprenticeships?

New data shows that 770 apprenticeships were delivered in North Oxfordshire in the 2010/11 academic year, an increase of 30% on 2009/10.

Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): Will my right hon. Friend confirm that our approach should focus on what can be done to help people back into the world of work and on helping them with what they can do, rather than on any scintilla of a suggestion of people being punished for what they cannot do?

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants who will qualify for his planned mandatory work activity scheme. [72048]

North Oxfordshire MP, Tony Baldry has written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP about NEETs.

In Banbury near 500 of our young people are under 25 years old and not in employment or training.

Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): I want to make three points. First, we must put the debate into context—the good news and the bad news. The good news is that the June official unemployment figures showed the number of young people out of work falling in the quarter to April—youth unemployment has continued to fall sharply—and the number of unemployed people between the ages of 16 and 24 dropped by 79,000, which is the largest fall since official records began in 1992. That point needs to be made in this debate. Against that, we must recognise that 900,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 are still out of work.

Banbury MP Tony Baldry has launched a National Works CLub Network following the success of Banbury Job Club.

North Oxfordshire MP Tony Baldry helps establish the National Work Clubs Network which will have its official launch this Friday at the Royal Society of Arts in Central London.