McFadden backs legal right to job support for young people

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has backed giving young people a legal right to government help finding work, ahead of a review due on Tuesday that is expected to propose job placements or training for under-25s.

McFadden told the BBC that support should have a “legislative underpinning”, saying the help currently on offer was “vague”. He said young people needed more certainty about what they were entitled to.

The review, led by former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn, is also expected to recommend reducing some young people’s benefit entitlements to help fund expanded employment support. The proposals have not yet been published.

Milburn has called for a shift in spending from benefits towards employment support. He has said the current ratio is about £25 spent on benefits for every £1 on employment support, and wants it to move to £2 for every £1. He has also argued that young people should have obligations to take up opportunities offered by the government.

The government separately said it would widen eligibility for its scheme offering jobless under-25s subsidised six-month roles on the minimum wage. From next April, eligible claimants will be offered a role after 12 months of unsuccessful job hunting, rather than 18 months. The scheme’s maximum age was raised from 21 to 24 earlier this year.

The review is expected to set out a broader reform package, including a legal guarantee of work, training or other support. Its recommendations will need to be published before the government’s response and any legislative changes are clear.