Local Elections 2021: Young people hit hard by unemployment

The pandemic has seen the jobs market shrink, hitting young people especially hard. In Cambridgeshire, the number of 16-24-year-olds claiming unemployment-related benefits more than doubled between March and December 2020. With the full impact of coronavirus on unemployment yet to be seen, how are mayoral candidates planning to help people back into work?

Ashley Linnett, 23, from Huntingdon has been struggling to find work since 2018.

He believes better training and work experience opportunities would help people like him who have skills but not the necessary experience.

"They require experience but you can't get that experience through the educational system very easily. I'm stuck in the same circle, going round and round," he said.

Youth unemployment has increased by 133% in the East of England since start of the pandemic, ONS figures show.

In Cambridgeshire, the number of people aged 16-24 claiming unemployment-related benefits rose from 2,220 to 4,960 between March and December 2020.

All three candidates to be mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority acknowledged that unemployment was another consequence of the pandemic.

They said they wanted to see people getting back to work and having more opportunities, but the routes they outlined were very different.

In alphabetical order, they set out their plans below.

"Using the holistic approach of my medical background, I will adopt a whole population approach to health, skills and employment.

"By securing real traction over the local "welfare to work" policy, alongside a robust work and health programme, the combined authority can prioritise the creation of innovative support packages to deliver long-term employment for the traditionally disenfranchised communities.

"Exclusion from the labour market will be helped by the provision of cheaper, frequent and better connected public transport services."

"In my first term I have transformed the adult education service, giving more opportunities to those people in most deprived areas.

"I intend to build on that success, using the extra £1m of funding given by government to offer more training and education opportunities to those out of work and those in the most need.

"There will be a significant need for adult education post-Covid and because of the work we have already done in my first term, we are well placed to help."

"The Covid pandemic has hit younger people and people with few qualifications particularly hard.

"To do something about this, we need to help people get the right training and make sure there are jobs for them.

"The mayor has a lot of funding for this. I would boost apprenticeships and improve access to post-16 education and training. I want to invest in a green-led recovery that will bring skilled long-term jobs."

A special programme with all three candidates - called A Mayor for Cambridge and Peterborough - will be broadcast at 14:20 BST on Sunday on BBC One in the East.