Key facts
- Milburn will propose under-25s get training and support instead of the universal credit health element, the Guardian reported.
- Under the plans, young people with disabilities would lose personal independence payment but could apply to a local fund for short-term expenses.
- Some estimates put the support Milburn proposes at about £6bn, though the government is understood not to plan that level of spending.
- The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the proposals could leave many disabled young people on universal credit with about £80 a week.
- UK welfare spending reached £333bn in 2026, with young people including Neets receiving about 2.5%, per the Guardian.
- A government spokesperson said the Milburn and Timms reviews are due to be published shortly and would be answered in full.
Downing Street is considering whether plans to replace key disability benefits for the under-25s with work and training should be extended to older age groups, the Guardian reported on November 13, 2026. The prime minister and other cabinet ministers are looking at applying a "participation first" approach to all working ages, spending billions more on support to enter the workplace while cutting or removing some disability benefits.
The discussion comes as the government prepares to accept recommendations from its adviser, Alan Milburn, next week on overhauling the system for young people. Milburn will propose that under-25s receive training and support instead of the universal credit health element, the Guardian reported. Young people with disabilities would also lose personal independence payment but could apply to a local fund for specific short-term expenses and equipment rather than an ongoing payment, with entitlements protected for those with the most extreme needs who cannot work.
Cabinet ministers looked during the week before November 13 at whether the arguments could be applied to over-25s, and are considering an intervention from the prime minister or Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, to make the case that the same principles should apply to all. This could take place within weeks after both the Milburn review and the Stephen Timms review into disability benefits are published, the Guardian reported.
Some government sources believe the idea of expanding the reforms to over-25s will not survive a probable backlash from parts of Labour, while others believe Milburn has made the case that the system needs to change. The Guardian reported consternation within some departments, including the Department of Health and the Department for Education, about where upfront funding would come from. Some estimates put the support Milburn proposes at about £6bn, though the government is understood not to plan that level of spending.
Milburn told the Guardian earlier in the week that his report would create 440,000 employment and education opportunities by 2036 and raise young people's net incomes by more than £2bn. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the proposals could weaken the safety net for hundreds of thousands of young people, leaving many on universal credit with a basic rate of about £80 a week. Iain Porter, the charity's senior policy adviser, said cutting someone's income when they are already struggling makes it harder to stay in education or find work.
A government spokesperson said the Milburn and Timms reviews are due to be published shortly and that the government would respond to their recommendations in full.