BENEFIT claimants face tougher hurdles to get cash after Andy Burnham vowed to “get really serious” about bringing down the ballooning welfare bill.
The PM yesterday signalled ministers could tighten rules ahead of a major push to get more young people into jobs.
Benefit claimants face tougher hurdles to get cash after Andy Burnham vowed to ‘get really serious’ about bringing down the welfare bill Credit: Reuters
And the PM will unveil a shake-up of secondary schools to better prepare youngsters for work Credit: Getty
It comes as analysis revealed some teens on sickness benefits receive around £100 a week more than others working part-time on minimum wage.
Today Mr Burnham will unveil a shake-up of secondary schools to better prepare youngsters for work.
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From 14, pupils will combine English, maths and science with technical training, work experience and time spent at local employers.
Schools will be encouraged to tailor lessons to jobs available in their area, while Ofsted will start judging them on how well they prepare pupils for work.
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The reforms are based on Mr Burnham’s Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, which combines GCSEs with technical education and work experience.
Mr Burnham said: “I want an education system based on parity between academic and technical which gives all young people a clear path in life.
“From today, Britain will value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap.”
He added: “Fixing the youth unemployment crisis will require a major shake-up in how we do things — and that’s what this Government will do.”
The announcement comes as more than a million young people, known as Neets, are now not in work, education nor training — the highest number recorded.
Former Labour minister Alan Milburn, who is leading the review into youth unemployment, has warned Britain risks creating a “lost generation” unless more young people are given a clearer route into work.
Mr Burnham’s education reforms sit alongside a wider attempt to tackle Britain’s soaring welfare bill.
In an interview with the BBC, he signalled some benefits could come with tougher conditions, saying: “It’s about changing the nature of the support and making some of it conditional on people taking opportunities that are presented.
“So you might increase the conditions required to receive benefits.”
But he insisted he was not blaming people already claiming.
Instead, he said many young adults had been “quite seriously let down” because they had not received the help they needed before falling out of work.
He added: “We’ve got to get really serious as a country at getting the welfare bill down.”
The number of young people claiming disability benefits continues to rise with over 87,000 16 and 17-year-olds now receiving PIP Credit: Getty
‘FULLY FUNDED’
By Jack Elsom
ANDY Burnham insisted defence was a “top priority” as he welcomed Volo- domyr Zelensky in his first foreign leader reception.
The PM vowed Britain would hit its Nato target of spending 3.5 per cent of its GDP on the military by 2035 — but has yet to set out a funding plan.
At Portsmouth naval dockyard yesterday, he embraced Ukraine’s president, telling him: “You can count on the UK for as long as it takes.”
He is Britain’s sixth PM since Mr Zelensky took power.
Mr Burnham added: “It’s my job to keep the country safe and in the world that we’re living in, defence has to be right up there as a top priority.
“I’ve already said I will fully fund the Defence Investment Plan.”
The number of young people claiming disability benefits continues to rise.
More than 87,000 16 and 17-year-olds now receive Personal Independence Payment, or PIP.
Analysis by The Times also showed a teen on the enhanced rate of PIP can pick up around £100 a week more than a 16-year-old working the maximum 12 hours allowed during term time on the under-18 minimum wage.
Overall, around four million people now receive PIP after claimant numbers doubled following the pandemic — with spending forecast to continue rising over the coming years.
The surge has prompted ministers to launch a wider review of the disability benefits system.
In an interim report, disability minister Sir Stephen Timms concluded PIP in its current form was “no longer fit for purpose”, with recommendations on possible reforms expected later this year.
The issue has already caused one of Labour’s biggest political headaches.
Last year Sir Keir Starmer’s Government attempted to overhaul disability benefits but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown after dozens of Labour MPs threatened to vote against the plans.
