The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Minister Pat McFadden has called on Labour MPs to support proposed reforms to the benefits system, as reports suggest the government is considering cuts to payments for claimants aged 16 to 24. Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Mr McFadden emphasised the need to “renew” a welfare system originally established by the Clement Attlee government and updated by New Labour.
Serving under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the cabinet minister highlighted the upcoming publication of two significant reviews this autumn: one led by Alan Milburn addressing reforms for young people aged 16 to 24, and another by the Timms panel examining the personal independence payment (PIP) disability benefit. He stated these reviews would require “decisions to make and responsibilities to take.”
Mr McFadden called for a shift from a benefits system focused solely on entitlements towards one oriented around creating opportunities. He said, “It falls to us, the party which did so much to create it, the party that holds it dear, to embrace the change needed.”
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The anticipated reforms aim to enhance support for younger claimants in accessing jobs and training, building upon existing measures such as the “jobs guarantee,” which funds six-month employment placements for under-25s, including fast-track provisions for disabled young people.
Criticising right-wing parties advocating cuts to benefits for working-age young people, Mr McFadden rejected characterisations of this demographic as “a generation of snowflakes and shirkers.” He remarked, “What kind of patriotism is it that attacks your own younger generation? Our belief in our country says we will lift you up and give you a chance, we won’t blame you for the challenges you face.”
Highlighting the challenges faced by young claimants, Mr McFadden said, “A young person who signs on for sickness benefits when they are twenty years old is now more likely to reach the age of thirty and still be on them than to have held down a steady job in any one of the intervening years.” He added that young people under 25 on the health element of universal credit are less likely to find work than those over 55, and warned of the increased risk of premature death among unemployed young people compared to their peers.
He urged for change, declaring, “We should not accept it. We have to change it. Conference, this status quo is not a system around which to circle the wagons. It’s a system to change so that we can give a chance to life for the people it too often signs off and writes off.”
The government expects to receive the reports from Alan Milburn, focusing on young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs), and from Stephen Timms on PIP, soon after which it will propose reforms centred on opportunity.
In April this year, around 205,000 young people aged 16 to 24 received PIP for disabilities linked to ADHD or autism, with costs projected at £1.36 billion for the 2025-26 period. Mr McFadden emphasised that both the financial and human costs of the current system are “too high.”