Almost a million young people aged 16 to 24 are not in employment, education or training, amid warnings they are being "consigned" to a "life on Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits".
Rising NEET Numbers
In the three years from 2017 to 2019, an average of 11.5% of young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in employment, education, or training (NEET). However, that figure has now skyrocketed. Data from the DWP shows almost one in 20 – 4.6 per cent – of people who turned 18 in 2020 have been on Universal Credit their entire adulthood. This equates to 34,047 of Britain’s current 24-year-olds already on benefits for more than half a decade.
Claimant Perspectives
One young claimant told the Telegraph: "They send you £300 a month and don’t ask how much your parents make," referencing the DWP and Universal Credit. He added: "We’re all looking for jobs. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t sign up." Another commented: "I’d love to be young again. Back then, though. I wouldn’t want to be young now, God!"
Government Response
957,000 people aged 16 to 24 are not in employment, education or training, according to the Office for National Statistics, with 327,432 of them on job-seeking benefits. DWP boss Pat McFadden said previously he will seek to use his new powers over skills policy to curb "wasted potential" from youth unemployment and cut the government’s growing benefits bill.
McFadden argued that skills and employment are "natural partners" – so DWP-run jobcentres should be able to go beyond "just support or help" with job searches, and also offer skills assessments and "clear routes" to training and employment. He said his "first priority" would be getting more young people into work or training, to prevent "lost opportunity, unused talent and wasted potential". The work and pensions secretary added that adding skills to his department’s responsibilities would give it a "renewed energy and focus".
