UK welfare reset young people Neets benefits review, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has confirmed that some young people will no longer be eligible for benefits they currently receive. He said a “complete reset” of the system was needed to help 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, a group whose figures exceeded one million earlier this year.
The announcement comes ahead of a review led by Alan Milburn into Neets, meaning under-25s not in employment, education or training, which was expected to be published on Tuesday. Mr Milburn has suggested that some young people would receive less financial support under his recommendations, which would move them from certain health-related benefits onto a new “youth allowance” paid at the standard universal credit rate.
Asked whether some claimants should lose existing benefits, Mr McFadden told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “There will be people in the future who will not get what they would get today.” He said people would move to a new system when reassessed, and declined to confirm whether the total working-age benefits bill would fall by the next election, saying benefits are uprated every year to keep pace with the cost of living.
Mr Milburn said it would take about 10 years to reach a “reasonable level” of Neets and warned that faster progress through “crude cuts” would simply move young people’s costs elsewhere in government spending. He said the investment would probably amount to “billions” over that period, with savings and fiscal benefits expected as young people move into paid work rather than relying on benefits.
Mr Milburn also argued that young people should have a “legal guarantee” of a route into employment, which he called an “opportunity guarantee”. Mr McFadden said employment support needed “legislative underpinning”.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said a legal entitlement “doesn’t make sense”, though she supported moving away from cash payments for mild conditions towards employment support. Reform UK’s Danny Kruger said he was encouraged by stricter benefit rules for young people who should be supported into work, but doubted Labour would follow through.
