The Public Accounts Committee supported the Department for Work and Pensions as it tried to help young people into work at what was expected to be a downturn in employment opportunities. But the £1.9 billion ‘emergency intervention’ Kickstart scheme has supported far fewer young people than predicted. Early delivery was chaotic and DWP ‘neglected to put in place basic management information that would be expected for a multi-billion-pound grant programme’. Also, despite more favourable than predicted economic conditions, many young people who joined Universal Credit when the pandemic started have remained on the benefit. DWP doesn’t know why these people are not in Kickstart jobs.