Young people out of work face benefit cuts under government’s new “youth guarantee” scheme

The government is set to unveil a “youth guarantee” scheme, seeking to reduce the number of young people out of work, and slash the benefits of those who repeatedly refuse to take up opportunities.

It intends to guarantee access to training, apprenticeships or help finding a job for those aged 18-21 who require it.

As outlined in Labour’s manifesto, the “youth guarantee” is set to encourage local employers to collaborate with colleges, housing organisations, councils, and mayors, aiming to ensure a broad reach to find those not in education, work or training.

The scheme derives from Labour’s Get Britain Working White Paper, which will see job centres combined with the National Careers Service, creating a public employment service that seeks to be more digitalised and personalised than the current system, with long-term goals of supporting people to enter the workforce.

Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, stated that the government believed it had a “responsibility to provide those new opportunities” to young people

This new system would aim to tackle economic inactivity – with the UK being the only remaining country in the G7 with higher economic inactivity levels than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, stated that the government believed it had a “responsibility to provide those new opportunities” to young people.

She said that there was a need to break down barriers that prevented those on benefits entering the workforce, suggesting that not only are these people eager to enter the workforce, but also that employers are eager to recruit them.

However, these changes are also intended to drastically cut the amount of money spent on welfare, following Labour’s plan  to uphold the previous government’s commitment to cut the welfare bill by £3 billion over the next five years, with £65 billion in the last year alone being spent on sickness benefits.

Kendall suggested that many benefit claimants had self-diagnosed their mental health problems but conceded that the UK did have a genuine problem with mental health issues.

Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake welcomed Labour’s plans, saying that the rise in benefit claimants due to ill health was primarily caused by the pandemic.