There will be no cuts to universal credit health benefits for under 22s until at least the autumn, a minister has revealed.
Any move to withdraw access to out of work sickness benefits for younger claimants will not come before September when a report on youth employment is published.
Ministers have proposed restricting eligibility to universal credit health benefits (UC health) for under 22s as part of plans to tackle high levels of young people out of work.
The policy was consulted on last year and ministers have been considering the responses since then.
UC health is a means-tested benefit payment for welfare claimants assessed as having limited capability for work due to a health condition or disability. It is separate to personal independence payments (PIP) which are not based on a person’s income or work status.
Going ahead with the cut risks another welfare row for the Government over concerns it could leave young people with health conditions – including mental health concerns – unable to claim sickness benefits if they feel they cannot work.
Labour MPs have already shot down attempts by ministers to toughen up eligibility for disability benefits, which would have included making it harder for people with milder mental health conditions to access support.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Disability and Social Security Minister said the Government believed that employment and training support was more valuable than “extra cash” for young people.
But he said that no final decision would be made until a review into the causes of youth unemployment had concluded.
When could the changes come into force?
Ben Coleman, Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said to Timms: “Could he reassure my disabled constituents under the age of 22, many of whom are in education and low-paid work, that they will not lose their universal credit health payments?”
He said he was concerned that removing eligibility for the benefit “could push them further away from employment and deeper into poverty”.
Responding, Timms said there was an “urgent need to address the big rise in the number of young people not in work, education or training”, known as NEETs, and said he believed “better support might help young people more than extra cash”.
Timms went on to say that the NEET review, being led by former minister Alan Milburn, would report “in September,” adding: “We will wait until then to decide whether to delay access to the universal credit health element until the age of 22. If we did do that, there would need to be exceptions.”
How many young people are out of work?
Almost one million 16 to 24-years-old are classified as “NEET” in the UK – the highest level since 2014.
The number of young people on incapacity benefits has surged by more than 50 per cent since the pandemic, reaching 239,000 – with the vast majority of these claiming support due to mental-health or neurodevelopmental conditions.
A report, published today by the Resolution Foundation said the rate of young NEETs was the third highest in Europe, after Italy and Lithuania.
The think tank blamed a weak labour market, a lack of vocational education and a benefits system which did not support young people to get into work.
The number of 18 to 24-year-olds on benefits with no requirements to engage with the Department for Work and Pensions – for example to show they are applying for jobs – had increased from 160,000 to 300,000 since 2019, the report said.
Milburn’s review probing why young people are being prevented from getting into work is looking at how the benefits system can be reformed to support this.
The Government said it was putting £2.5 billion of funding into its “youth guarantee” policy which will improve the offer of work placements, training and apprenticeships for young people.
It has also set aside £3.5 billion to provide tailored employment support for sick or disabled people.
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