"I'll have no apprentices next year" the salon owner told us, compared to her usual tally of 12. It isn’t for lack of interest. Young people phone or turn up at her door almost every day hoping to be taken on. Some parents have even offered to cover the cost themselves so their child isn't NEET. The problem is what it now costs to keep a salon open and employing staff. Labour’s jobs tax, business rates and energy bills have all gone up, and customers are paying for it every time they go for a haircut. Some owners have stopped employing stylists and now rent out chairs to self-employed workers instead, which keeps them under the VAT threshold. That leaves the salons who keep staff on the payroll and train the next generation at a disadvantage. I heard this first hand with @KemiBadenoch and Shadow Cabinet colleagues this #BritishBeautyWeek, and the message was clear: these businesses want to hire, we just need to back them. That’s why @Conservatives will cut National Insurance for 21 to 24-year-olds and cut business rates for most high street shops. That's how we'll get Britain working.