Young Britons face benefit loss in push for work or study

Young people who refuse to work may lose benefits, announced the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Liz Kendall informed the BBC that the government will introduce new proposals offering young people the opportunity to "earn or learn." "Young people who refuse to take up jobs or training will lose their benefits in the government's crackdown on worklessness," she said.

Official data shows that between July and September, nearly a million young people were neither studying nor employed. New measures aimed at reforming the welfare system include a "Youth Guarantee" for those aged 18-21, which aims to train young people or help them find employment.

Kendall said on the programme "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg" that these proposals will involve a review of the apprenticeship system to give more people a chance "for the opportunity to be earning or learning." When asked if those who do not take up these offers will lose benefits, she replied: "yes."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in an article in the "Mail on Sunday," promised that the reform of benefits will tackle "offenders" who exploit the system. Kendall, however, told the BBC that she believes there are people who can work but refuse to do so, although she thinks they are a "minority" among benefit recipients.

Labour market activity has dropped sharply since the pandemic. Currently, 9.3 million people in the United Kingdom are neither working nor seeking work, an increase of 713,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 3 million people are not working due to poor health, an increase of 500,000 since 2019.

Under the previous Conservative government, there were plans to tighten the eligibility criteria for disability benefits, which could have deprived about 400,000 people of their support. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions refused to confirm whether these people would retain benefits under the proposals of the currently ruling Labour Party.