Some young people in the United Kingdom could see reductions in the benefits they can claim, under a radical welfare overhaul expected from a government-commissioned review, the BBC reported, citing The Times. Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, has spent a year on the report, which is due to be published on Tuesday. He has been asked to help reduce the share of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training, known as "Neet." Official figures from April to June put that group at just under one million, up 3 percent from a year earlier.
The review is expected to say that under-25s should no longer be able to claim the health element of Universal Credit, or Personal Independence Payment, the main disability benefit in England and Wales. Disabled people in Scotland can claim the devolved Adult Disability Payment. Under Milburn's plan, under-25s would instead receive an allowance at the same basic rate as Universal Credit. Some could be eligible for a new "additional cost allowance" for day-to-day costs related to their conditions. Those with more severe disabilities who cannot work would get a new benefit paid at a higher rate. Milburn is also expected to recommend billions of pounds of investment in employment support, including work placements, job subsidies and personal advisers. He said on Wednesday night that his plans would not be "pain-free" and would affect both existing and new claimants.
"Candidly, it could mean that some people will get less financial support at the beginning of their benefit claim than under the current system," Milburn told The Times. "But actually, for young people, there's a different debate that we've got to resolve, which is whether the priority is their longer-term life chances or just their immediate shorter-term finances." He said the current system prioritizes the latter and that "that's the wrong choice." Prime Minister Andy Burnham said young people would be given support "when they need it as teenagers rather than leaving them on benefits in their 20s." A government spokesperson said there would "always" be a safety net for the most vulnerable and those unable to work. Skills Minister Jacqui Smith told the BBC that young people had a "responsibility" to take up employment support: "It is a contract."
The exact amounts will not be clear until early next year, when the government publishes legislation, the BBC said. If the recommendations were approved, monetary savings could take almost a decade, and Milburn said the new system "will need significant investment." Tom Ashforth, a 19-year-old student who receives both components of PIP at the higher rate for a visual impairment, is among those who depend on the current payments. Dame Meg Hillier, who helped lead a backbench rebellion against welfare changes last year, said she was giving Milburn "a fair wind." Bell Ribeiro-Addy, another Labour rebel from last year, said she was "not sure" she could vote to cut entitlements for existing claimants. The report is a set of recommendations, not a law, and the fight over who would get less has already started.