Cutting health benefits for young people could push thousands into poverty, charities warn

Plans to strip health welfare benefits from individuals aged below 22 threaten to push vulnerable young people into poverty, campaigners have warned.

A coalition of dozens of charities has written to ministers and the author leading a review of youth unemployment.

The groups acknowledged that system changes are necessary, but argued that future policy must centre on genuine support and opportunity rather than “the failed punitive approaches of the past”.

Signatories to the message include Action for Children, housing charity Shelter, food bank network Trussell, and disability charity Scope.

In July, Prime Minister Andy Burnham dismissed the prospect of “crude cuts” to state assistance, yet insisted he would “get really serious” about trimming total spending.

He argued that young people were “quite seriously let down” by insufficient routes into employment, adding that he intended to “increase the conditions required to receive benefits”.

In their letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden and adviser Alan Milburn, the charities said: “We welcome your commitment to tackling the growing number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) through a fair and sustainable approach to change.

“We are also encouraged by the Prime Minister’s recognition that crude cuts to benefit levels are not the answer to reducing social security spending.”

They said that while change “is needed”, it “must be built around the principles of support and opportunity, rather than the failed punitive approaches of the past”.

More than 40 signatories, including Save the Children and Barnardos, said evidence had shown that “cutting benefits worsens health and deepens poverty, while strict conditionality and sanctions is particularly counterproductive and harmful for disabled people”.

A Government proposal published last year for consultation under Sir Keir Starmer suggested delaying access to the health element of universal credit (UC) within a reformed welfare system until someone reached the age of 22.

The document said that in September 2024, there were 66,000 people aged 18 to 21 in the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) category, meaning they do not need to look or prepare for work.

Research by Scope has estimated that 94% of households with a young person under 22 claiming the UC health element would be in poverty if the support was removed.

The analysis found that almost half (49%) of households with a young UC health claimant are already in poverty, and removing the entitlement from current claimants would push a further 45% below the poverty line.

The charities’ letter to Government said that as of March there were 184,000 people aged 16-24 receiving UC health across the UK, which they said represented 6% of recipients.

They added: “These are young people with severe and complex needs, often living with multiple physical and mental health conditions and overlapping disadvantages including poverty, homelessness and childhood trauma.

“For young people cared for at home, the health top-up provides much needed family income to meet living costs and support care arrangements.

“Other young people living independently or in supported accommodation depend on it to meet their basic costs.

“We also know that significant numbers are engaged in education, and any loss of income would undermine their ability to sustain that participation.”

Lucy Schonegevel, from Action for Children, said: “If ministers want better outcomes for disabled young people, the evidence points to earlier intervention, tailored support and genuinely meaningful job and volunteering opportunities, not sanctions or cuts.”

James Taylor, from Scope, said: “Any cuts to the health element of universal credit will only push more young disabled people into poverty, not jobs. It won’t remove the barriers they face getting into and staying in work, such as inaccessible recruitment, negative attitudes or a lack of tailored support.

“Alan Milburn’s review could be a real turning point. But the Government must listen to young disabled people, rule out cuts and sanctions, and invest in the long-term personalised support they need to build the futures they deserve.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We want to see the potential of young people up and down this country fully realised, whether that be through education, training or work.

“We are pushing ahead with the biggest youth employment reforms in a generation to create almost a million opportunities for young people and our wider £2.5 billion youth employment support package includes a new apprenticeship bursary for families on universal credit.

“We have also commissioned Alan Milburn to investigate the barriers stopping young people from getting into work and look forward to receiving his final report in the autumn.”

The charities’ letter came as Reform UK unveiled plans to make long-term benefits claimants clean up their local high street or face being stripped of benefits.

The party’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said the policy would be part of a series of changes to welfare and benefits under a Reform government that would stop some claimants “taking everyone else for mugs”.

The proposal was announced alongside others that Mr Jenrick said would cut £50 billion from the welfare bill.