Labour’s Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said there will no ‘arbitrary benefit cut target’ as he pledged reforms will focus on helping young people get into work
There will be no “arbitrary benefit cut target” in any future reforms, Labour’s welfare chief has vowed.
Pat McFadden said focusing on savings is not the best approach as he looked to move on from bitter divisions in the summer. The Work and Pensions Secretary said any plans he puts forward will instead centre around giving people opportunities to work.
The Government was forced to abandon deep cuts to personal independence payments (PIP) and changes to Universal Credit health top-ups in the summer after a backbench rebellion. But Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to reduce welfare spending and get people into work.
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Speaking during a visit to a new youth employment hub at Peterborough United’s Weston Homes Stadium, he said: “I think welfare reform, when it happens, should be firmly focused on working opportunity and not an arbitrary benefit cut target.
“I don’t think that is the best way to do that.” Asked if that was where his predecessor, Liz Kendall, went wrong, Mr McFadden said: “What’s done is done.
“I don’t want to look in the rearview mirror. But I want the welfare state to be a springboard for opportunity. And so when I take forward welfare reform, it will have work and opportunity at its heart.”
He said the Government wants to ramp up the number of youth employment hubs from around 100 to 200. The centres, like the one in Peterborough, provide help and advice for young people seeking work.
And crucially they can also offer support on issues like housing and health. Mr McFadden said hubs could help thousands of youngsters find work and were a welcoming alternative to Jobcentres.
He said: “I think these youth hubs are important because we want to get more young people in to work and we have to bring the work finding help to where young people are.
“And they don’t always want to do this in a Jobcentre. And in a Jobcentre you can’t always find the other help that people need – with health issues or housing issues or money advice and so on.”
He said Ms Reeves’ youth guarantee – which will see those out of work or education for 18 months offered a guaranteed paid work placement – shows Labour’s commitment.
“There are too many young people not in employment, education or training,” he said. “And so we’re stepping up our effort through this and some other things to try and help this improve.”
He continued: “I really believe in Britain’s young people. I believe in their potential and their talent, and I think that we can do better for them. I think there’s perhaps we haven’t been ambitious enough for young people.
“It’s been too easy for people to graduate from education onto being trapped on benefits and I don’t want that.”
Mr McFadden went on: “The other thing about these benefits is they can be sticky. When people are on them for a few years it’s hard to come off them because you’ve just got used to that life.
“We don’t want that for young people.”
The new hub was welcomed by Peterborough’s mayor, former Tory MP Paul Bristow. Mr Bristow, an avid Peterborough fan, told The Mirror: “If I can help the government reach their objectives to get young people into work, and that means more investment here in Peterborough, then I’m going to do it.”
He said the hub, which overlooks the pitch, is likely to be a lot more attractive to young jobseekers. He said: “So when you have a Jobcentre, perhaps it’s not the most welcoming of environment, and it’s only one sort of service that they’re receiving there.
“You can have a situation where you’ve got housing, health advice as well as the traditional employment service you’d receive at a Jobcentre all under one roof.
“And it’s a much more welcoming atmosphere than perhaps a Jobcentre would traditionally be.”
Debbie Cook, the English Football League’s director of community said: “From employment, mentoring and education programmes to sport and wellbeing initiatives, EFL Football Clubs and their charities are deeply embedded in their communities, empowering individuals to unlock their potential and thrive.
“During the EFL’s Week of Action, we are delighted to see the opening of the youth hub at Peterborough United in partnership with Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, that will maximise the opportunities for young people in the area.”