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Labour pledges to curb welfare entitlements Ed Miliband: Young jobless must train or lose benefits
(about 7 hours later)
Jobseeker's Allowance would be withheld under a Labour government from 18- to 21-year-olds unless they have completed education or training to AS-level or equivalent, Ed Miliband is to announce. Unemployed young people could be denied out-of-work benefits unless they agree to training, Ed Miliband is to say.
The opposition leader is to set out a range of welfare reforms in a speech at the IPPR think tank on Thursday. In a speech, he will say those aged 18-21 should get a means-tested "youth allowance" rather than Jobseeker's Allowance, if they train in key skills.
Labour said the policies could be achieved without increasing the overall welfare bill. The Labour leader will say his party wants to do more to get young people into work.
But the Conservatives said they were a "recipe for more spending". Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said Mr Miliband's welfare plans were a "recipe for more spending".
According to pre-released extracts of the speech, Mr Miliband will say: "We need big, far-reaching reform that can reshape our economy so that hard work is rewarded again, rebuild our society so that the next generation does better than the last, and change our country so that the British people feel it is run according to their values." According to pre-released extracts of the speech, Mr Miliband will say: "We need big, far-reaching reform that can reshape our economy so that hard work is rewarded again."
Labour said Mr Miliband would announce that some adult out-of-work benefits, including Jobseeker's Allowance, would be replaced with a "youth allowance" that would be means-tested on parental income and conditional on the young people being in training. Mr Miliband will also propose an increase Jobseeker's Allowance from £72 to £100 a week for those who had been in work for the previous five years - rather than the current two years.
'Perversity of system' But, speaking at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a centre-left think tank, he will promise "big changes, not big spending" - saying his plans will not increase the overall welfare bill.
"We must reshape our social security system so that it does everything it can to get people into decent jobs and the world of work, not a life on benefits," he is expected to say. "It is a principle deeply felt by the British people that people should get something back for all they have put in and not get something for nothing," he will say.
"And yet the perversity of the system means that the one thing we most discourage those young people from doing is getting the skills they need for a decent career. "We must reshape our social security system so that it does everything it can to get people into decent jobs and the world of work, not a life on benefits.
"The system is telling them that they should sign on for benefits, not sign up for proper training. But at the same time, it is saying to those who go to university that they are entitled to financial support." 'Less secure future'
He is also expected to announce that the party would introduce a higher rate of Jobseeker's Allowance for those who have contributed more into the tax system. "And yet the perversity of the system means that the one thing we most discourage those young people from doing is getting the skills they need for a decent career."
"We will pay for it not by spending more money in social security system overall, but by extending the length of time people need to have worked to qualify," he will say. His proposed "youth allowance" - to be available to people who undertake training of AS-level or equivalent - is expected to be paid at the same £57 level currently given to under-25s on Jobseeker's Allowance.
But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "This is just a recipe for more spending on welfare, more borrowing - and more taxes to pay for it. Mr Miliband has already announced his party's "jobs guarantee" scheme, under which 18 to 24-year-olds out of work for a year will be offered a taxpayer-funded job for six months - with those who refuse losing benefits.
Speaking about Labour's latest welfare plans, Mr Shapps said: "This is just a recipe for more spending on welfare, more borrowing - and more taxes to pay for it.
"That's exactly how Labour got us into a mess in the first place."That's exactly how Labour got us into a mess in the first place.
"Ed Miliband has no economic plan. All he offers is more of the same old Labour, and Britain would have a less secure future as a result.""Ed Miliband has no economic plan. All he offers is more of the same old Labour, and Britain would have a less secure future as a result."
At the 2013 Conservative Party conference, PM David Cameron suggested benefits paid to people under the age of 25 could be cut in an effort to reduce long-term worklessness.At the 2013 Conservative Party conference, PM David Cameron suggested benefits paid to people under the age of 25 could be cut in an effort to reduce long-term worklessness.