Conservative Party: Our contract for young people

David Cameron has launched the Conservative Party's contract for young people.

"We are publishing our contract for young people", he said, "because they are our best resource in this country, so often done down and demonised by the media or by politicians or a combination of both".

"They are our future. And today I want to set out the things that we want to do to invest in our young people and to give them hope and opportunity for the future".

Speaking in Blackpool, Cameron went on to highlight the key Conservative policies that will do just that, such as the Conservative pledge to give "the opportunity for every 16 year-old to take part in National Citizen Service".

He also pledged to bring in "more competitive sport in our schools", helped by establishing a "School Olympics". And he spoke of the importance of "really good mentoring programmes in the poorest parts of our country".

Click here to read David's speech in full

Click here to download the contract.

Give you better training

We will:

• establish Technical Academies across England, starting in at least twelve cities, to develop proper vocational and technical education that engages young people;
• provide a huge range of extra training opportunities, with 400,000 apprenticeship, training and college places over two years;
• give small and medium-sized businesses a £2,000 bonus for every apprentice they hire;
• create a range of business-led training places to help young people on the road to employment, with 50,000 places in the hospitality and leisure industry to begin with;
• fund 10,000 extra university places in 2010, paid for by introducing an early repayment discount on student loans; and,
• create a new all-age careers service so that everyone can access the advice they need.

Support you to find work

We will:

• scrap Labour’s jobs tax – their increase in National Insurance from 2011 – which would kill the recovery and cost jobs;
• by the end of 2010, create a single Work Programme to replace Labour’s failed employment programmes – giving unprecedented levels of support to young people looking for work;
• make sure unemployed young people are given immediate help to find a job, as well as intensive support as soon as they need it – immediately for those really struggling to find work, and at six months for the under 25s;
• engage voluntary and private sector providers, who will only be paid in full for getting people into sustainable work, to deliver tailored back-to-work help; and,
• introduce Work for Yourself, a new scheme to help unemployed would-be entrepreneurs – including young people – who want to start their own business by giving them access to a business mentor and start-up loans.

Help create green hi-tech jobs

We will:

• create tens of thousands of skilled jobs – including green apprenticeships – through our Green Deal, which will deliver energy efficiency improvements to homes across the country;
• establish a superfast broadband network throughout the UK to support hi-tech, digital and creative industries – experts believe this could generate 600,000 additional jobs.
• build a new high speed rail network, boosting green transport and creating a new generation of skilled jobs; and,
• refocus research and development tax credits to help hi-tech firms and start-ups create jobs.

Help you get on the housing ladder

We will:

• raise the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for first-time buyers, so 9 out of 10 people buying their first home won’t pay it;
• introduce a Foot on the Ladder programme to offer an equity stake to good social tenants, which can be cashed in when they move out of social rented accommodation; and,
• tackle the shortage of affordable housing by creating new local housing trusts, where the benefits of development go to local people who can’t find a good home.

Fight back against crime

We will:

• focus Home Office support on interventions, like mentoring by expert voluntary groups, to tackle youth crime on the 100 most deprived communities across the country;
• introduce a series of early intervention measures, including grounding orders, to allow the police to use instant sanctions to deal with anti-social behaviour
• without criminalising young people unnecessarily;
• change the rules so that anyone convicted of a knife crime can expect to face a prison sentence, and introduce mobile knife scanners on streets and public transport;
• introduce a system of temporary bans on new ‘legal highs’ while health issues are considered by independent experts;
• engage with specialist organisations to provide education, mentoring and drug rehabilitation programmes to help young offenders go straight; and,
• stop young people ending up in a life of crime by paying voluntary and private sector providers by results to reduce youth offending.

Help you make a difference to your local community

We will:

• introduce National Citizen Service – the initial flagship project will provide a programme for 16 year olds to give them a chance to develop the skills needed to be active and responsible citizens, mix with people from different backgrounds, and start getting involved in their communities;
• establish an Olympic-style school sports competition to give every young person at school or college an opportunity to play competitive sport and help secure a lasting legacy from London 2012; and,
• launch an annual Big Society Day to celebrate the work of neighbourhood groups and encourage more people to take part in social action.