Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department plans to allocate the additional funding for supporting young people into work outlined in her Department's Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we set out plans to invest £1 billion a year by the end of the decade in new employment, health and skills support – one of the biggest packages of new employment support for sick and disabled people ever – including new tailored support conversations for people on health and disability benefits to break down barriers and unlock work, and more intensive programmes of support with health and work.

For 18–21-year-olds specifically we set out proposals at point 256 in the Pathways to Work Green Paper to: “[Delay] access to the UC health element [to 22, in order to] remove any potential disincentive to work during this time. Proceeding with this change would be on the basis that resources could be better spent on improving the quality and range of opportunities available to young people through the [Youth] guarantee, so they can sign up to work or training rather than long-term benefits.” Such a change could support the establishment of a distinct and active transition phase for young people, based on learning or earning for all.

We are consulting on the design options for a work, health and skills support package. The government will actively engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and disabilities. This consultation is now open and will close on 30th June.