Overview

• Every young person on Universal Credit who has spent 18 months without earning or learning will be offered a paid placement under the plan announced at Labour conference.
• Refusing an offer without a reasonable excuse could trigger sanctions, including cuts to or loss of benefits.
• Reeves said no companies have formally signed up yet, though business organisations have expressed support.
• The scheme will rely on private employers hosting placements with government wage subsidies, with full operational details to follow in the Budget.
• Ministers frame the policy as a route to end long-term youth unemployment, citing roughly 948,000 16- to 24-year-olds currently not in education, employment or training, while critics warn about risks for young people facing health or caring barriers.