Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, whether people under 22 in receipt of benefits will lose those benefits once those reforms are implemented.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are consulting on delaying access to the health element of UC within the reformed system until someone is aged 22, on the basis that the savings generated would be reinvested into work support and training opportunities for this age group to support them into employment and improve their life chances, and that this would remove any potential disincentive to work during this time.
We are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do. The consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she had made of trends in the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Office for National Statistics estimate that nearly 1 in 8 young people are not in education, employment or training.
This is 872,000 young people, a number which has risen by 74,000 over the last year.