Government Delays Cuts to Universal Credit Health Benefits for Under-22s

The Department for Work and Pensions announced that the proposed removal of the universal credit health element for claimants under 22 will not be implemented before September 2024, pending a youth-employment review.

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Almost one million 16- to 24-year-olds are classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training), the highest level since 2014. Incapacity-benefit claimants in this age group have risen > 50 % since the pandemic to 239 000, the majority for mental-health or neurodevelopmental conditions. The Resolution Foundation reports the UK’s NEET rate as the third highest in Europe after Italy and Lithuania. The government has earmarked £2.5 bn for a “youth guarantee” programme and £3.5 bn for tailored employment support for disabled people.

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Social Security and Disability Minister Stephen Timms said the government believes employment and training support is more valuable than extra cash for young people and highlighted an urgent need to address the rise in NEETs. He indicated that the decision on the UC health element will be deferred until the Milburn-led review reports in September. The government also cited the £2.5 bn youth guarantee and £3.5 bn funding for disability-focused employment assistance.

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Labour MP Ben Coleman asked Timms to reassure disabled constituents under 22 that they will retain UC health payments, warning that removal could push them further from employment and deeper into poverty. Labour MPs have previously rejected proposals to tighten disability-benefit eligibility, arguing such changes would harm vulnerable young people.

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Delaying the cut prevents an immediate loss of means-tested health support for disabled young claimants, potentially averting increased poverty and disengagement from the labour market. The decision also interacts with the £2.5 bn youth guarantee and £3.5 bn targeted employment support, central to the government’s strategy to reduce NEET numbers.

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No final decision on the timing or scope of the UC health reduction has been made, and the government has not disclosed how many under-22 claimants currently receive the benefit. The upcoming Milburn review will determine whether exceptions will be introduced.

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• “Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Social Security and Disability Minister Stephen Timms said the Government believed that employment and training support was more valuable than “extra cash” for young people.” for young people.” — Stephen Timms, Social Security and Disability Minister

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• “urgent need to address the big rise in the number of young people not in work, education or training” — Stephen Timms

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• “Timms went on to say that the NEET review, being led by former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Milburn, would report “in September,” adding: “We will wait until then to decide whether to delay access to the universal credit health element until the age of 22.” — Stephen Timms

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• “A report published today by the Resolution Foundation warned the rate of young Neets was the third highest in Europe, after Italy and Lithuania.” — Resolution Foundation

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The Milburn-led NEET review is scheduled for September 2024. The government has indicated that any decision on the universal credit health element will follow that report, while the youth guarantee and disability-support funding continue to be implemented.

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