McFadden says some people will lose benefits in future as Neets review looms

Resumen detallado

The Work and Pensions Secretary said a ‘fundamental reset’ of the system was needed to help out-of-work under-25s.

Some young people will not receive benefits they are currently eligible for in future, Pat McFadden has said ahead of the publication of a major review aimed at tackling the rise in youth unemployment.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said a “complete reset” of the system was needed to help 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, work or training, the number of whom topped one million earlier this year.

Amid concerns among some backbenchers about the extent of future support, he urged MPs to view the changes as a “different proposition” to last year, when the Government abandoned planned welfare cuts in the face of rebellion.

It comes ahead of the release of Alan Milburn’s review of the so-called Neets – under-25s not in employment, education or training – on Tuesday, which is expected to recommend radical changes to reduce welfare dependency.

Mr Milburn has said some young people will receive less financial support under his proposals, which include moving them off some health-related benefits and onto a new “youth allowance” paid at the standard rate of universal credit.

Asked whether he agreed that some people should lose the welfare they currently receive, the Cabinet minister told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show: “There will be people in the future who will not get what they would get today.

“When people come up for reassessment, they go on to a new system but, as I say, people are reassessed today under the current system.”

He declined to say whether the overall working-age benefits bill would be lower by the next election, adding: “Look, I can’t say that – we uprate benefits every year, and I think it’s important to keep people up with the cost of living.

“These are some of the poorest people in the country, and the best way to get the benefits bill down is with the long-term reset that we are talking about.”

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