UK welfare system review for under-25s benefits, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Under-25s could see their access to benefits cut as the government looks to get more young people into work, according to a report from The Times.
Former Labour MP Alan Milburn is reportedly set to publish a report arguing that Britain’s welfare system needs to be rebuilt to stop young people from becoming reliant on benefits for the rest of their lives. The report is due to be published next Tuesday and follows news that nearly one million Brits aged 16 to 24 are classified as NEETs, meaning not in education, employment or training.
Milburn is expected to call for anyone under 25 to be locked out of claiming the health element of Universal Credit (UC) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Current statistics cited by the BBC show around four million people under 25 in England and Wales are registered for PIP, while Department for Work and Pensions figures show 768,000 young people aged 16 to 24 are claiming Universal Credit.
Under the proposal, the health element would instead be replaced with an ‘additional cost allowance’ at the same rate as UC, covering daily costs related to health conditions. Those unable to work at all due to their disability would be eligible for a new benefit paid at a higher rate.
Milburn acknowledged to The Times that the changes would not be ‘pain-free’. “Candidly, it could mean that some people will get less financial support at the beginning of their benefit claim than under the current system,” said Milburn, who chairs the UK’s Social Mobility Commission.
“But actually, for young people, there’s a different debate that we’ve got to resolve, which is whether the priority is their longer-term life chances or just their immediate shorter-term finances.”
If the report receives backing from Andy Burnham’s government, its recommendations would likely be included in plans to implement major welfare reforms in 2027 to combat rising youth unemployment. Statistics published in August showed 60 percent of under-25 NEETs were economically inactive, meaning they were neither working nor looking for work.
This reached the highest level since records began between January and March 2026 but dropped between April and June.
The other 40 percent were classed as unemployed, meaning they were looking for work and available to start within the next two weeks.
