A generation at risk: Labour’s proposed war on disabled youth
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/generation-risk-labours-proposed-war-disabled-youth
Plans to delay access to the universal credit health element until age 22 have triggered fierce opposition from disabled people’s groups, who warn it would deepen poverty and entrench discrimination against young disabled people under the guise of ‘encouraging work.’ DYLAN MURPHY reports
IN A MOVE that has sent shockwaves through disabled communities across the country, the Labour government is considering a policy that would slash vital financial support for young disabled people aged 18 to 21.
As the campaign group Benefits and Work has pointed out, “One of the proposals in the Pathways to Work green paper was to delay access to the UC [universal credit] health element until age 22, meaning that younger people would not be eligible. The claim is that this would make it less likely that young people would be trapped in a life on benefits. The proposal is pencilled in for 2027/28.”
This has sparked a firestorm of criticism from disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), which warn of a “devastating financial impact” that will push a vulnerable generation further into poverty and away from the very employment opportunities the government claims to be promoting.
The government’s rationale for this drastic measure is to prevent young people from being “trapped in a life on benefits.” However, this narrative has been widely condemned as a gross misrepresentation of the reality faced by young disabled people.
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/generation-risk-labours-proposed-war-disabled-youth
Campaigners from Oceana UK protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where the environmental group is taking the government to court over 31 licences for oil and gas exploration, March 26, 2025
