Labour slams government for 'writing off' young people as number of under-25s out of work due to sickness doubles
28 December 2023, 23:27
The government is "writing off" young people, Labour has claimed, with the number of people under the age of 25 not looking for work due to health reasons doubling since 2010.
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The opposition party said that there were 235,000 16-24-year-olds out of work or not looking for employment due to long-term sickness.
This is over double the 116,000 who were in the same position in 2010/11, Labour claimed.
It comes despite the number of young people going down over that 13-year period; in May 2010 there were about 7.3 million people between the ages of 16 and 24, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
But in May 2023 the number of people in the same age bracket was about 6.8 million, ONS figures show.
Read more: Jeremy Hunt fuels speculation of early general election as Spring Budget date set
Labour's Shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said: "By neglecting the foundations needed for a healthy economy, the Tories are writing off hundreds of thousands of young people."
Ms Kendall said that said if her party took power, it would make sure young people did not fall between the cracks between services and government departments.
Labour said that improving mental health services, as well as reducing NHS waiting lists and strengthening workers' rights, would the "root causes" of economic inactivity.
A government spokesperson said: "We are driving down inactivity and helping young people into work as we build on our track record of youth unemployment falling by 43% since 2010.
"We are investing £2.3 billion into mental health services and supporting more 16 and 17-year-olds to participate in education and apprenticeships.
"More widely our Back to Work Plan will help up to 1.1 million people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or long-term unemployed to look for and stay in work."
A Conservative spokesman accused Labour of having a "brass neck", saying the party had "never left office with unemployment lower than what they inherited".
Labour's latest broadside against the Conservatives comes after another shadow Cabinet member said that she expected a general election next spring, after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the date of the Spring Budget on Wednesday.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, said: "It’s the worst kept secret in Parliament that we are likely to be heading for a May election, and this Budget date seems to confirm that."
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Mr Hunt revealed the budget will be on March 6, having commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to prepare forecasts for the economy and public finances for the same date.
Several measures are said to have been planned out to win over voters in the lead up to the election, including cuts to inheritance tax.
But veteran Conservative MP and former leadership candidate Iain Duncan Smith said he would not go for a May election.
He said: "You want the voters to feel things have changed. It would be better to go after the summer break when people are coming back from holiday and feel better about life."
