A West Cumbrian council has affirmed its commitment to helping young people secure good employment prospects - and pay them a fair wage along the way.

Allerdale council tonight voted unanimously to pay apprentices the living wage and encourage all employers in the area to do the same.

In a notice of motion, council leader Alan Smith said: "As a council we remain committed to apprenticeships.

"Apprenticeships are a key part of our local economy, as well as being a route into permanent employment and qualifications for many of our young people."

New legislation dictates that large employers must pay an apprenticeship levy.

In turn they are given a target number of apprentices to employ, funded through that money.

Employers that fail to meet their targets will have to return their levy money to the Government.

In his motion, Coun Smith called on the Government to consider a mechanism to allow unspent levies to be reinvested into local small and medium sized businesses to help them employ apprentices.

The council has employed apprentices for several years.

It currently has four.

Coun Smith said: "We find it difficult to recruit so if we bring five apprentices into parts of the council where we can't recruit, if we can keep two of them and three move on to other areas I feel quite chuffed that we are providing employment to young people.

"We want them to have the best opportunities for the young people and for the borough as well."

Coun Carni McCarron-Holmes said people should not think apprenticeships were just for teenagers, with 44 per cent of new apprentices now aged over 25.

She added: "The positive impact that apprentices have is tremendous."

Coun Tony Markley, leader of the council's Conservative group, said his members supported the levy and the motion.

The council voted unanimously to support the motion.