The Work Foundation at Lancaster University comments on the impact on young people of the proposals in the Government's Pathways to Work Green Paper. Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, commented:

“With nearly a million young people aged 16-24 not in work, education or training, the Government is right to recognise the long-term scarring effects being unemployed can have on their future job prospects through the introduction of the Youth Guarantee.

“But today’s proposal to delay access to the health element of Universal Credit for young people under 22 risks delegitimising young people’s health issues and undermining efforts to support them into work.

“Making it more challenging for young disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to access a health-related top up to their benefits is likely to leave many without the support they need or push them into poorly paid and insecure work. Overall, young people are already more than twice as likely as older workers to be in severely insecure work, which risks exacerbating any underlying health condition they have, with potential negative implications for their future earnings and wellbeing.

“As the Government takes these measures forward, Ministers must ensure the voices of young people are at the centre of the consultation. The Government should redouble its efforts to ensure those young people facing mental health challenges are able to get the health support they need, while the emphasis of these reforms ought to remain on providing additional, tailored support to access high quality, secure employment for those seeking work.”