McFadden urges Labour to back welfare reform for young people
Two reviews due this autumn may shape changes to disability benefits and employment support for people aged 16 to 24. No reforms have been confirmed.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has urged Labour MPs to support significant changes to the welfare system, arguing it should do more to help young people into work. He described efforts to prevent young people becoming trapped on disability benefits as a “moral crusade”.
The Guardian Politics reports that the government will consider its next steps after the Milburn review on young people and the Timms review on disability benefits report this autumn. Their findings may inform changes to benefit assessments and employment support, but the scope and timing remain unsettled.
The debate follows the government’s reversal last year of a proposed £5bn-a-year disability-benefit cuts programme after a Labour backbench rebellion. McFadden said the system carried high human and financial costs, while arguing some young people could be supported into work.
Existing support includes a jobs guarantee that funds six-month employment placements for under-25s, with disabled young people given fast-track access. The Guardian says any new approach is expected to focus on work and training as well as disability-benefit assessments.
The reviews have not established who, if anyone, would face reduced benefits or how eligibility might change. McFadden’s call puts pressure on Labour to define how it will balance employment support with protection for people whose conditions prevent them from working.
