Miliband proposes youth allowance to replace JSA for 18- to 20-year-olds
Young unemployed people could have their benefits stopped if they do not attend training to increase their chances of getting a job, under new Labour proposals for welfare reform.
Setting out his party’s policies on welfare reform, Labour leader Ed Miliband said that anyone aged 18- to 21-years-old should be given an incentive to gain skills rather than being left to languish on state handouts.
In a speech to launch the new Condition of Britain report, from the IPPR think tank, Miliband said the problem of young people with no or poor qualifications facing little chance of being able to get on had been known about for decades yet it has not been addressed.
“The perversity of the system means that the one thing we most discourage those young people from doing is getting the skills they need for a decent career because we tell them that they should sign on for benefits, not sign up for proper training. A Labour government will get young people to sign up for training, not sign on for benefits,” he said.
Backing plans outlined in the IPPR report he said: “For 18-to 21-year-olds, we will replace Jobseekers’ Allowance with a new youth allowance. An allowance dependent on young people being in training and targeted at those who need it most.”
To be eligible for ‘youth allowance’ young jobseekers will need to participate in vocational training at AS level or equivalent.
Further policies in the IPPR report include a ‘youth guarantee’ for young people to offer access to education or training plus intensive support to find work or an apprenticeship, with compulsory paid work experience for those not earning or learning within six months. There are also proposals to expand the National Citizen Service programme to ensure that half of all young people aged 16 and 17 will be taking part by 2020.
Dr Adam Marshall, executive director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Giving 18- to 21-year-olds training allowances rather than unemployment benefits will be an attractive idea to many in the business community, who express concern that young people often don’t have the right skills to succeed in the world of work.
“The acid test will be whether these proposals help to address the confidence gap between businesses and young people.”
The results of a survey also published by the IPPR today showed that 78 per cent of voters think the current welfare system does not reward people who have worked and contributed to it. Miliband is expected to announce further plans to link benefit payments more closely with national insurance contributions previously paid. Claimants would only be able to access the higher rate of JSA (£71 a week) after they had paid NI for five years.