DWP rule change could see thousands stripped of benefit payments

The Government is promising every young person out of work for 18 months a paid job, apprenticeship, or college place. However, the pledge comes with a warning that turning work down could see young adults stripped of their benefits.

Under the Labour Party’s new “Youth Guarantee,” anyone aged 18 to 21 who has been out of work or education for 18 months will be guaranteed a place in training, college, or employment. Ministers say the scheme is designed to ensure no young person is left without prospects.

Speaking at the Labour conference, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We won’t leave a generation of young people to languish without prospects - denied the dignity, the security and the ladders of opportunity that good work provides.”

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But the promise comes with a stark warning: those who refuse the offer without a “reasonable excuse” could have their Universal Credit payments cut or removed entirely.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “A youth guarantee means opportunity is not just for the few, but for all. And with that opportunity comes responsibility too – to take up the training, the apprenticeship or the work that is offered.”

Currently, around one in eight 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment, or training - about 948,000 people. But many do not claim benefits or have not been inactive long enough to meet the 18-month threshold, so the exact number of young people who could lose payments remains unclear.

The scheme, to be funded in the Budget on November 26, aims to tackle long-term youth unemployment, which has risen sharply in recent years. Ministers hope it will help young people gain real work experience and new skills, while easing pressure on the growing benefits bill.

Critics warn it could unfairly penalise young people with health issues, caring responsibilities, or other barriers to work. But ministers insist it is a “social contract” - offering opportunity alongside responsibility.

The Chancellor said: “Just as the last Labour government, with its New Deal for Young People, abolished long-term youth unemployment, I can commit this government to nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again."