McFadden says young people with mental health issues fare better in work
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden argues that young people with mental health conditions or neurodivergence are better off in work than on benefits, as the government weighs reforms for those not in employment, education or training.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has said that paid work is part of the answer for young people who are not in employment, education or training, arguing that those with mental health issues tend to fare better when they are working than when they are reliant on benefits. His remarks come as the government looks at how to reduce the number of young people outside the labour market, a group often referred to as NEETs.
McFadden's argument centres on a group that makes up a substantial share of the NEET population. According to the figures cited in the reporting, people with mental health conditions or neurodivergence account for 45 per cent of young people who are not in employment, education or training. McFadden's position is that young people in this group are better off in work than on benefits, and that support should be directed towards helping them find jobs and access mental health care. The emphasis on job-finding and mental health reflects a view that the two challenges are closely linked, and that employment alone is not the whole answer for everyone in this category.
Separately, Andy Burnham has said the government is seeking what he called a "quite radical change" in how it supports young people. Burnham has called for a "root and branch review of childhood", setting out a mission to rethink childhood from the early years onwards rather than addressing problems only once they have become entrenched in adulthood. His framing places the NEET question within a wider debate about the conditions young people grow up in, and what happens to them before they reach the age at which employment and benefits become the main points of contact with the state.
Burnham has not ruled out some benefit cuts, and the approach being discussed includes tougher benefit rules alongside more support in areas such as job-finding and mental health. That combination signals that the government is weighing both pressure on the benefits system and additional help for those who need it, though the balance between the two has not been spelled out. Critics of tougher benefit rules often argue that conditionality can push vulnerable people further from support, while supporters contend that clearer expectations, paired with the right help, can move people into work. The reporting does not indicate which side the proposals will ultimately favour.
Alan Milburn's second report on reducing NEET numbers is also expected, and it is likely to feed into the debate over how the measures should be designed. His earlier work on the issue has placed the focus on the scale of the challenge and the need for coordinated action across government. The exact scope and timing of the proposed reforms have not yet been set out, leaving open how far the government will go in changing the benefits system and what form the additional support will take. Until those details are published, the government's position rests on the broad direction set out by McFadden and Burnham rather than on a finalised programme.
Source: independent.co.uk
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