Young people aged 18 to 24 claiming Universal Credit will be offered a Government-funded job after 12 months under an expansion of the youth jobs guarantee scheme.
The waiting period for eligibility will be reduced from 18 months to a year from April, the Department for Work and Pensions said.
The programme, which began in April and is being extended nationwide by the end of November, offers under-25s a six-month paid placement matched to their skills. The Government will fund up to 25 hours of work a week at the relevant minimum wage.
Ministers have described the initiative as a “jobs guarantee”, although it does not create a legal duty to provide work.
Youth jobs guarantee scheme expanded
The change comes as Alan Milburn prepares to publish a review examining how to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training, known as Neets.
Mr Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, told the BBC that young people should have a legal guarantee of access to training, work or employment support. He suggested the responsibility could operate in a similar way to councils’ duties towards homeless people and children in care.
His recommendations are expected to include replacing health-related Universal Credit payments and personal independence payments for under-25s with a “youth allowance” paid at the standard Universal Credit rate.
The review follows a rise in the number of Neets aged 18 to 24, which passed one million earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.
Andy Burnham has called the report a “watershed moment”, but has not committed to adopting all its recommendations. The Prime Minister said funding the reforms would involve “spending differently” rather than providing “more money” to the Government.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said young people with disabilities or health conditions should recognise that these “doesn’t always rule out work”. He said employers were willing to make adjustments and give people opportunities.
He also said the department had reached an agreement with the Tourism Alliance aimed at creating 50,000 jobs for Neets during the current Parliament, with work experience intended to provide a route into employment.
Announcing the expansion, Mr McFadden said: “The longer someone is out of work, the harder it is to get back in, and no young person should be left waiting on a scrapheap for an opportunity.
“That is why we are expanding our guaranteed jobs scheme across Great Britain and bringing it forward, so that help arrives when it matters most.”
The Conservatives said the test would be whether the review led to “real jobs”, arguing that subsidised placements alone would not address the underlying causes of youth unemployment.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the party would support reforms that genuinely helped people, but argued that young people needed private-sector jobs rather than another Government scheme.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said Labour was treating the symptoms rather than the causes of youth unemployment, describing the scheme as a “government-funded waiting room”.
The Liberal Democrats said the six-month placement would be of limited value without a job at the end. Their work and pensions spokesman, Steve Darling, also questioned why young people had to wait a year on benefits before receiving employment support.
