Rachel Reeves’ plans for a youth guarantee scheme and lifting the two-child benefit cap are not enough to tackle the spiralling welfare bill, says Jamila Robertson

This week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her plan to fix the unemployment crisis, which has seen 621,000 under-24s out of work this year. Reeves’ ‘youth guarantee’ scheme would provide paid work for 18-21 year olds who have been on Universal Credit for 18 months and not in work or education. Like Labour’s previous proposals to temper the ballooning welfare bill, this was introduced by the Conservatives in 2023, but was originally not restricted to a specific age group.

Considering there are now 1.67m people unemployed (up from 1.52m in July 2024), 2.95m people aged 16 to 24 economically inactive, and that 11.9 per cent of those claiming Universal Credit are graduates, restricting this scheme to 18-21 year olds is an odd choice. One might deduce that her heart isn’t in it.

The scheme, which promises paid work at the end of an 18-month job........

© City A.M.