Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately has called on the government to “take action in the Budget” to “back businesses to employ more young people” amid growing concern over youth joblessness.
Whately made the remarks during an appearance on the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, arguing that Labour has “killed jobs” for the younger generation.
She pointed to an increase of more than 174,000 young people unemployed as evidence of the damage done under the current government’s economic policies.
Youth unemployment hit an 11-year-high in the middle of this year, while the number of young people not in employment, education or training crossed the one million mark before dropping back slightly.
The Department of Health and Social Care published an independent review on 8 October into mental health conditions including ADHD and autism, following a steep increase in diagnoses linked to rising youth unemployment.
When asked whether the Conservative party’s “tough love message” is right, Whately described the situation as “incredibly distressing” for young people facing “endless rejections” from job applications.
“On the one hand, we need more jobs,” Whately said. “But we are also saying we need to recognise the welfare system isn’t helping people who are struggling with their mental health and neurodiversity.”
Whately argued that Personal Independence Payments, a tax-free benefit available to people aged 16 and above with long-term physical or mental health conditions, are becoming “cash handouts” that discourage work.
“The reality is, the welfare system is deterring people from working who would be better off in every sense of the word to be working,” Whately said, warning the current setup is actively discouraging employment.
The shadow minister also suggested that young people with conditions such as ADHD are being told “they should sign on as soon as they start school,” which she described as deeply counterproductive to getting them into work.
When pressed on whether young people are “too soft,” Whately insisted jobs must exist first, but added that “we do need to send a strong message” and that young people need to be “speaking about what they can do, not what they can’t.”
Chancellor John Healey is reportedly drawing up measures to slash the cost of hiring under-25-year-olds at the upcoming Budget, according to government sources, as ministers seek to ease pressures on businesses.
The move to reduce hiring costs for younger workers is likely to feature in Healey’s Budget statement on 28 October, with the government hoping to bring down the number of young people classified as Neets.
Both main parties appear increasingly focused on the youth unemployment crisis, though they differ sharply on the causes and the solutions needed to reverse the damaging trend.