𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Prime Minister is set to give more money to Universal Credit households to help teenagers take on apprenticeships. Ministers believe that by rolling out a new bursary, fewer young people will be discouraged from applying for apprenticeships, for fear their family might lose out on benefits.

According to the Government, the bursary will be worth up to £4,500 per year per household. The Social Security Advisory Committee has previously warned of an “apprenticeship cliff-edge”, because the benefits system “unintentionally penalises families when their children pursue apprenticeships”. So what do you think? Is Andy Burnham right to give some Universal Credit households £4,500? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comments section.

The scheme comes as Mr Burnham looks to tackle youth unemployment.

From Year 10, pupils will be able to combine core academic subjects, like English and maths, with technical education linked to jobs available in their area.

Mr Burnham said he wants there to be “no dead ends” for youngsters coming out of education, saying Britain “will value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap”.

The move to the shake-up of the benefit system to better support Universal Credit households with young people on apprenticeships has been described as a “welcome step” by Lucy Schonegevel from Action for Children.

She said the charity’s youth employability teams “see young people turn down opportunities because they can’t risk a reduction in their family’s income”.

The Social Security Advisory Committee reported that in one scenario, a single parent with a disabled child could have lost up to £339.92 a week in benefits if their teenager started an apprenticeship.

If the apprentice was paid £258 per week, the household would have made a net loss of around £80.

The bursary will be funded through the growth and skills levy, paid for by employers whose annual pay bill is more than £3 million.