Young people 'may lose benefits' if they don't engage with help from new £820m scheme

Young radical could suffer their close to cosmopolitan credit if they garbage to prosecute with assistance from a caller strategy without bully reason, the authorities has warned.

Almost 1 cardinal volition summation from plans to get them disconnected benefits and into the workforce, according to officials.

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It comes arsenic the fig of young radical not successful employment, acquisition oregon grooming (NEET) has risen by much than a 4th since the COVID pandemic, with astir 940,000 16 to 24-year-olds considered arsenic NEET arsenic of September this year, said the Office for National Statistics.

That is an summation of 195,000 successful the past 2 years, chiefly driven by expanding sickness and disablement rates.

The £820m bundle includes backing to make 350,000 caller workplace opportunities, including grooming and enactment experience, which volition beryllium offered successful industries including construction, hospitality and healthcare.

Around 900,000 radical connected universal credit volition beryllium fixed a "dedicated enactment enactment session".

That volition beryllium followed by 4 weeks of "intensive support" to assistance them find enactment successful 1 of up to six "pathways", which are: work, enactment experience, apprenticeships, wider training, learning, oregon a workplace grooming programme with a guaranteed interrogation astatine the end.

However, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has warned that young radical could suffer immoderate of their benefits if they garbage to prosecute with the strategy without bully reason.

"Doing thing should not beryllium an option," helium told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

"If idiosyncratic conscionable took that attitude, yes, they would past beryllium taxable to, you know, the obligations that are already portion of the system."

"What I privation to spot is young radical successful the wont of getting up successful the morning, doing the close thing, going to work," helium added.

"That acquisition of that obligation, but besides the consciousness of pridefulness and intent that comes with having a job."

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The authorities says these pathways volition beryllium delivered successful coordination with employers, portion government-backed guaranteed jobs volition beryllium provided for up to 55,000 young radical from outpouring 2026, but lone successful those areas with the highest need.

However, shadiness enactment and pensions caput Helen Whately, from the Conservatives, said the strategy is "an admittance the authorities has nary program for growth, nary program to make existent jobs, and nary mode of measuring whether immoderate of this wealth delivers results".

She told Sky News the proposals are a "classic Labour approach" for tackling younker unemployment.

"What we've seen contiguous announced by the authorities is backing the champion portion of £1bn connected enactment placements, and government-created jobs for young people. That sounds each precise well," she told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

"But the information is, and that's the absurdity of it is, conscionable 2 weeks ago, we had a fund from the chancellor, which is expected to destruct 200,000 jobs.

"So the occupation we person present is simply a authorities whose policies are destroying jobs, destroying opportunities for young people, present saying they're going to walk taxpayers' wealth connected creating enactment placements. It's conscionable simply the incorrect answer."

Ms Whately besides said the authorities needs to tackle radical who are unmotivated to enactment astatine all, and agreed with Mr McFadden connected taking distant the close to cosmopolitan recognition if they garbage opportunities to work.

But she said the "main reason" young radical are retired of enactment is due to the fact that "they're moving connected to sickness benefits".

Ms Whately besides pointed to the government's diminished effort to slash benefits earlier successful the year, wherever planned payment cuts were importantly scaled down aft absorption from their ain MPs.

The backing volition besides grow younker hubs to assistance supply proposal connected penning CVs oregon seeking training, and besides supply lodging and intelligence wellness support.

Some £34m from the backing volition beryllium utilized to motorboat a caller "Risk of NEET indicator tool", aimed astatine identifying those young radical who request enactment earlier they permission acquisition and go unemployed.

Monitoring of attendance successful further acquisition volition beryllium bolstered, and automatic enrolment successful further acquisition volition besides beryllium piloted for young radical without a place.