Tory 'Get to Work' plan would cut youth benefits by 30% to cut Neet numbers

Almost one million 16-to-24 year-olds in the UK are not in education, employment or training, a Neet total the Conservative Party has set out to reduce through a new "Get to Work" benefit scheme announced on 1 October.

Under the proposals, 18-to-24 year-olds applying for Universal Credit who have not previously worked continuously for six months at 16 or more hours per week would instead receive a "Get to Work" allowance. The allowance would be paid at the same nominal rate as Universal Credit, but require daily attendance at a job centre, on work experience or on work-readiness courses.

What does the scheme cover?

• A dedicated manager assigned to each participant
• Job-search workshops and interview-preparation sessions
• Daily attendance at a job centre or designated course
• Six-month duration, ending earlier if the participant finds work
• Exemptions for those with prior six-month work experience, health issues or care responsibilities

Participants still unemployed after six months on the programme would see their benefit cut by 30%. The party has also said it would examine whether parents' earnings and savings should be factored into welfare payments for their children.

How is the policy being sold?

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately framed the approach as "tough love": "Too many young people are leaving school and signing straight onto benefits — this is a waste of their potential and a disaster for our economy."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told The Spectator: "It's unfair to the people who get up and go to work, having others earn more than them for not working. Even families on benefits know that the system is out of control. But no one wants to be the one to get off the treadmill first. We need to force that. Government has to do that."

How are charities responding?

Sara Ogilvie, director of policy at the Child Poverty Action Group, rejected the plan: "Much better training and employment support is needed, but blocking access to Universal Credit would not remove young people from jeopardy, it would dig the most disadvantaged deeper into hardship."

Anti-poverty charity Trussell warned that Universal Credit recipients already cannot afford basic essentials, undermining their capacity to find and keep work.

What's the wider political context?

At Labour's conference earlier in the week, chancellor John Healey told delegates: "The best thing we can offer a young person is not a benefit payment — it's a first job with training and a wage." He said cutting welfare spending was a priority and announced that every mayor in England would have access to a local apprenticeships service from March 2027 to generate thousands more youth opportunities.

On Thursday, the Department for Work and Pensions said every small and medium-sized business hiring a young apprentice would receive £2,000 under a new scheme backed by the Federation of Small Businesses.

What does this mean for young jobseekers?

For 18-to-24 year-olds without six months of continuous work experience, a Conservative government would replace the standard Universal Credit claimant commitment with a six-month mandatory programme ending in a 30% payment cut for those still unemployed. The next test comes at the Conservative Party conference starting this weekend, with longer-term enactment contingent on the outcome of the next general election.