Young people and financial support

A recent interim report by Alan Milburn on young people looks at those not in education, employment or training (NEET). In terms of benefits, the report says that 46% of NEETs claim no benefits at all. It concludes that wider state help is needed, and reforming benefits for young people is not the solution.

There is criticism made in the report of the current system, for example that the ‘UC system is built around rapid movement into any available job’. There’s no mention of the difficulty in getting universal credit as a disabled student or when taking time out due to ill health. These are things that could be addressed to improve the financial support and increase the likelihood of young disabled people taking up or staying in education.

Read the young people and work report.

The Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) has highlighted that some young people have difficult choices to make financially about whether to remain in education or take up an apprenticeship. Parents on benefits can get support for young people remaining in further education, but not if they take up an apprenticeship. SSAC said ‘In the starkest cases, this creates pressures so acute that young people are discouraged from taking up apprenticeships or, in some instances, are forced to abandon them.'

See Benefits system distorts choices at 16.