Young people should not be able to use relatively minor mental health difficulties as a reason to avoid employment, the Conservatives’ shadow work and pensions secretary told the party conference.
Helen Whately said she had been told that some university students were encouraged to apply for benefits immediately after graduating, arguing that welfare claims were increasingly being treated as a “lifestyle choice”.
Welfare reform has become a major theme at the Conservative conference in Birmingham, as the party seeks to establish a clear policy contrast with Labour.
Speaking at a Centre for Policy Studies fringe meeting, Ms Whately claimed that some families had become used to relying on benefits “generation after generation”.
She said a future Conservative government would not simply accept people remaining at home without taking steps towards employment.
Ms Whately said the proportion of young people outside work had previously been about 10 per cent, but that a significant shift had taken place, with more now attributing their lack of employment to health concerns.
“We are not dismissing the difficulties faced by young people, particularly those who came of age during the Covid era, including struggles with mental health and neurodiversity,” she said.
“However, those challenges should not automatically mean someone cannot work. We will reform the benefits system so that people are financially better off in employment than relying on welfare.”
Helen Whately, pictured on Monday, said students were reportedly being advised to prepare to claim benefits after university, describing the trend as evidence that welfare was becoming a “lifestyle choice”
The shadow minister said she was concerned about school leavers and graduates moving directly onto benefits, receiving only limited support from job centres and remaining at home until welfare became routine.
She said employers had told her that young people who spend months disconnected from education and work can find it difficult to rebuild the skills and confidence needed to join the workforce.
Ms Whately described the trend as young people drifting from school into the benefits system, adding that some may not even complete their education before making a claim.
She also said she had heard of university students being told to prepare to claim benefits because finding a job would be difficult, warning that such advice was an unhealthy way to begin adult working life.
Research published earlier this year by the Centre for Social Justice estimated that more than 700,000 university graduates were unemployed and receiving welfare support.
The think tank’s analysis of official data found that 707,000 graduates aged between 16 and 64 were out of work and claiming at least one benefit in 2024. That figure was more than 200,000 higher than in 2019.
Around 400,000 were receiving Universal Credit, while nearly 240,000 said they were unable to work because of sickness, according to the CSJ.
Under Conservative proposals announced the previous week, young people leaving school would not be allowed to move straight onto Universal Credit. Instead, they would be required to take part in intensive employment coaching.
The programme could involve attending a job centre every day, completing work experience and taking part in interview preparation, alongside practical assistance with job applications.
Anyone who had not found or accepted work after six months would be transferred to a new Subsistence Allowance worth 70 per cent of the standard Universal Credit rate. Payments would be made through a restricted card that could not be used to buy alcohol, tobacco or fund gambling.
Ms Whately added that, under a Conservative government, young people who failed to attend compulsory job centre appointments would lose access to their benefits.
She added: ‘You’re going to be expected to turn up… and if they don’t turn up for the support sessions, [they] won’t get benefits. It’s that simple..’
The shadow work and pensions secretary added: ‘The system needs to be fair to the taxpayer, we’ve got to make sure that work always pays.
‘We’ve got to value contribution from people, and that has to play a part in our welfare system. And the fact that welfare has to be a safety net, not a lifestyle choice.’
