𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham could scrap a major disability benefit in a shakeup of the welfare system for young people, reports suggest. The Prime Minister is reportedly considering axing the health element of Universal Credit for under-25s in a bid to get them back into work.

The benefit would be replaced by a multi-billion-pound package of measures including mental health support, “back to work” schemes and subsidised job opportunities, according to The Guardian.

The plans, which are awaiting the conclusion of reviews by Alan Milburn into youth employment and the Timms panel into the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), are part of the Government’s bid to cut the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet). The UK Neet rate currently sits at around one million.

Ex-cabinet minister Mr Milburn was commissioned by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer to carry out the review and will make recommendations later this year.

Lucy Schonegevel, director of impact at Action for Children, said the reported cuts were “deeply concerning”.

She added: “If confirmed, that would be at odds with the Prime Minister’s recent warning against ‘crude cuts’ … Serious investment in high-quality, tailored employment support is vital, but employment support alone cannot overcome a lack of jobs.”

Sara Ogilvie, director of policy at the Child Poverty Action Group, also said: “If we learnt anything from the austerity era it’s that cutting social security support drives up child poverty and cuts young people off from opportunity.

“Much better training and employment support is needed but blocking access to Universal Credit would not remove young people from jeopardy, it would dig the most disadvantaged deeper into hardship.”

A Government source told The Guardian it would bring forward a “comprehensive package of support and reform to tackle the scandal of a million young people not in education, employment or training”.

They added that details are yet to be decided but “we are committed to enabling work and opportunity, while always protecting those unable to work”.

A DWP spokesperson said: “The Milburn and Timms reviews, due in the autumn, will lay the foundation for sustainable reform, and we will not pre-empt their findings.

“We are already changing the system through the youth guarantee, narrowing the gap between universal credit standard and health rates, restoring face-to-face assessments, and investing a record £3.5bn in employment support for disabled people and those with long-term conditions. We will always ensure there is a safety net for the most vulnerable and those who are unable to work.”