In a follow up to its wider inquiry into DWP support for employment during Covid the Committee will question senior DWP officials more closely specifically on the ‘Kickstart scheme’.
The ‘Plan for Jobs’ announced in July 2020 included the £1.9 billion Kickstart scheme for young people. At that point, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was expecting a 10% peak in unemployment in quarter 2 of 2020, and furlough was expected to end in October 2020. The OBR now expects unemployment to peak at 6.5% in the final quarter of 2021, while the furlough scheme in fact ended in September 2021. The Kickstart scheme is due to end in December 2021, with employment prospects still uncertain.
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