The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is considering plans that could provide certain Universal Credit claimants with an additional £339 per week. This initiative aims to encourage parents to support their children in taking up apprenticeships, as part of the Labour government's broader welfare reform agenda.
Proposed Bursary for Young People
The DWP plans may introduce a bursary for 16 and 17-year-olds, designed to incentivize apprenticeships. This comes amid growing concerns over the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), following the recent publication of the Milburn report.
Alan Milburn, the report's author, stated: "Almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training, making a reset absolutely essential. For every £25 that we spend keeping young people on benefits, we spend only £1 helping them get into work through employment support."
Financial Impact on Families
Officials have noted that some parents face significant income reductions when their children begin apprenticeships, due to the loss of child benefit and parts of Universal Credit. In a worst-case scenario identified by the Social Security Advisory Committee, a single parent with a disabled child could lose £339 per week in Universal Credit if the teenager starts an apprenticeship.
Under the proposed plans, ministers are discussing grants worth hundreds of pounds per month to bridge this financial gap. Milburn emphasized the urgency: "It's one thing to be ignorant. It's another thing to be neglectful, and we as a society – and we in politics – have been neglectful of what is, frankly, a scandal. It's a scandal that we can't afford."
Government Investment
A DWP spokesperson commented: "We are determined to reverse the 40 per cent drop in young people starting apprenticeships over the last decade. To give every young person the best start in their career, we are investing £2.5 billion to tackle youth unemployment and creating 50,000 additional apprenticeships for young people."
