Here’s why young people could lose their benefits under Labor’s new plans

Young people face losing their benefits if they refuse to take advantage of work and training opportunities, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Truss said.

It comes as Labor plans to stick to the previous Tory administration’s pledge to cut the country’s benefits bill by £3bn over five years, and the government has promised a “radical” overhaul of the benefits system in a bid to get more people back. whereas.

Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, Kendall said claimants had a “responsibility” to take part in skills or employment schemes and would face sanctions if they refused to do so as part of reforms to be set out next week.

Referring specifically to young people, the Cabinet minister said the government would “transform” opportunities with a “youth guarantee” as part of the reforms, but in return they would “have to address them”.

In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday, he said the government would overhaul the system for young people so “everyone has the chance to earn and learn”, but “in return” they would also “have a responsibility”. “To take advantage of these opportunities.

Here, Yahoo News breaks down what we know so far about the government’s upcoming changes to benefits and how it could affect young people.

What do we know about Labour’s welfare renewal?

Under the previous government, benefit eligibility was to be tightened and around 400,000 more people on long-term work permits were considered to be prepared to work by 2028/29 to save money.

It can be assumed that this figure will still hold if the New Labor leadership wishes to stick to the Conservatives’ previous promise.

But in a confrontation with broadcasters on Sunday, Truss refused to take questions about how Labor would cut costs before announcing a package of legislation next week, saying only that the government would implement its own reforms.

Asked if 400,000 people would lose their current benefits, Kuenssberg said: “I say we will bring forward our own reforms. You don’t expect me to announce this on your show.”

Kendall will introduce a package of measures on Tuesday to “keep Britain running” amid government concerns about an expected rise in demands, which he describes as Britain “an older, sicker nation”.

His white paper is expected to include the placement of business coaches in mental health clinics. The minister’s plans are also expected to include a “youth guarantee” aimed at ensuring 18-21 year olds work or study.

For this in a column mail on sundayPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer writes: “Make no mistake, we will tackle the bloated benefits bill that is negatively impacting our society… We will crack down hard on anyone trying to game the system, fighting fraud. Get cash straight from the fraudsters’ banks.”

The Prime Minister’s statements angered some MPs Including Labor’s Diane Abottaccused him of “selling the mythology of the profit hoodlum”.

How many young people are unemployed?

Between July and September 2024, 627,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed; This number means an increase of 128,000 compared to the previous year. parliamentary inquiry It was published in November. This shows that the youth unemployment rate fell from 12.1% to 14.8%.

During the same period, 3.60 million young people aged 16 to 24 were employed; this is 46,000 fewer than the previous year. The employment rate fell to 50.0% from 51.3% the previous year.

The report adds that there are 2.96 million young people aged 16 to 24 who are economically inactive; This is a broader definition that includes people who are not looking for work. That’s 10,000 more than the previous year and the highest rate since current records began in 1992.

The research briefing notes that there is an increase in the number of young people who are economically inactive due to a long-term illness. Mental health appears to be the main reason for this increase, with the number of young people who are economically inactive due to a long-term mental health condition increasing by 20,000 (24%) between 2019 and 2022.

The number of economically inactive people in all age groups is around 9.4 million.

The government’s latest official estimates show there are just over three million people receiving incapacity benefit overall. It is expected to increase from approximately 2.5 million in 2019 to 4.2 million in 2029.

A report published in April by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that a large share of young people now claim health-related benefits, with the share claimed by 25-year-olds rising from 4.9% to 7% since 2019.

The IFS adds: “A 20-year-old today is about the same chance of making a health benefit claim as a 39-year-old in 2019, while a 35-year-old today is about the same chance of making a health benefit claim as a 46-year-old.” “A 55-year-old in 2019 is just as likely to make this claim as a 60-year-old in 2019.”

Mental health and behavioral disorders are the “primary condition” affecting people receiving benefits, accounting for 41% of claimants, but appear to be more prevalent among young people.

According to the IFS, this rate rises to 69% among 25-year-old applicants, while for 55-year-old applicants the rate is just 22%.

“Before the pandemic, around one in thirteen people were claiming a health-related benefit. By the end of this decade, this will now rise to one in eight,” he added. “This is important as rising rates of ill health and disability increase the likelihood of people falling out of the workforce at a time when the UK faces serious labor shortages.”

Mental health self-diagnosis fuels benefit bill, Kendall says

Asked how the number of working-age people on health benefits has increased by one million since 2019, according to the IFS, Kendall said “a number of factors” were at play.

“I think we’re seeing an increase in the number of people with mental health problems, both self-diagnosed – I think it’s good that the stigma is decreasing – and diagnosed by doctors,” he told Kuenssberg.

“We are also seeing more people aged 50 and over; mostly women, with bad knees, hips and joints. “We have a serious problem with our health service.”

Asked if he believed “normal emotions” had been “over-medicalised”, Kendall said: “I really believe it’s not a simple thing. “You know, the last government said people were too upset to work.

“So I don’t know who they’re talking to. There’s a real problem with mental health in this country.”

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