Young people to lose benefits if they decline work, says minister
Young people will be deprived of their ability to claim health insurance if they leave a taxpayer-funded position after 18 months without a job, according to the work and pensions secretary. Pat McFadden told the BBC that they would need a good reason
to withdraw one of the 55,000 six-month placements, which will go into operation next April. The government has revealed that the roles could include sectors such as construction and hospitality, but that companies participating in the competition are yet to be confirmed. Helen Whately, McFadden's Conservative counterpart, said the policy revealed that Labour had "no strategy for expansion and no initiative to create real jobs.
Following the initial announcement of the scheme in September, it has been announced that the placements would begin to roll out in six areas of the UK with high youth unemployment from spring 2026. The six-month positions will be fully subsidised
for 25 hours a week, earning the legal minimum wage from an £820 million pot, which will also fund education and work assistance. The positions will be open to 18- to-21-year-olds on universal credit who have been searching for work for 18 months. Ministers have yet to be confirmed that new opportunities will be established in fields including construction, health and social care, and hospitality. The government intends to establish 350,000 apprenticeship and work experience placements in total. Laura Kuenssberg McFadden of BBC was pressed for more information on what might be a legitimate reason to leave a position. According to him, this could include situations where a family emergency
prevented them from attending an appointment.
The number of 16-24-year-olds not in work, education, or training - also known as Neets - has been on the rise since 2021, with the most recent estimates indicating that nearly a million young people are now not working or learning.This is an offer on one hand, but it's a desire on the other. When we consider other options out there, we don't want for young people to be sitting at home on benefits.
The government claims that the government-backed jobs would not necessarily be in the same industries, but that they will be located in the following regions: The administration claims that 900,000 young people on Universal Credit and looking for work will be given a dedicated work support session
followed by four more weeks of
the chancellor's tax hikes are driving up youth unemployment, boosting youth unemployment and snatching a career from a generation of young people.intensive assistance. An employment coach will then direct them to one of six pathways: work, work experience, apprenticeship, general education, or a workplace training program with a guaranteed interview. In the first six months of the scheme, the government expects more than 1,000 young people to start working. Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said in the Budget that
As the government prepares to unveil its national youth plan, further plans are likely to be unveiled in the coming week.This scheme is nothing more than taking with one hand to give with the other.
Minister Rachel Reeves had previously announced that the government would fund a program to provide apprenticeship training to children under the age of 25 at small and medium businesses "completely free. In the three months to September, there were 946,000 young people in the United Kingdom who were Neet, which is equivalent to 12. 7% of all people aged 16-24. Long-term sickness or injuries are a barrier to work or education, according to a quarter, while the number of people receiving health and disability insurance is on the rise. Last month, the government declared that it would conduct an independent investigation into the increasing number of young people not working or studying.
