Burnham did not rule out cuts to certain benefits for young people — The Guardian
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government is seeking to introduce “quite radical changes” to support for young people. The reform may include stricter rules for access to social benefits, as well as expanded assistance with job searches, education and mental health support, The Guardian reports.
Review of support for young people
Burnham’s comments came ahead of the publication of the second part of a review by former minister Alan Milburn. The document focuses on reducing the number of young people who are not in work, education or training.
Milburn is expected to propose large-scale measures for youth employment and education. The review may also recommend limiting access to some benefits for people who refuse to engage with relevant services. The first part of the review, published in May, said that approximately one in eight young people — around 1 million people — are not working or studying.
Benefits and investment
Burnham called the issue socially important and said that young people need to have prospects in life. According to him, support for those growing up in a world different from that of older generations has been insufficient.
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Asked about possible cuts to certain benefits, the prime minister replied that he was prepared to make difficult decisions. He said he could not accept a situation in which 1 million or more young people aged 20–29 receive benefits.
Burnham stressed that the reform should not be limited to the social assistance system alone. He linked it to a review of support for children from an early age, saying that many of them arrive at school unprepared for learning and subsequently fail to close that gap.
In an interview with the BBC, the prime minister also said that spending on support for young people must initially increase. According to him, this may require reallocating funds, but overall spending on social benefits should decline over time.
