Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with cabinet colleagues to support young disabled people with complex needs into work.

The Government is taking action to help young disabled people and young people with complex health needs move towards work. This is a diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them.

The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for young people with long-term health conditions and disabled young people.

We have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to overhaul support and give a generation of young people a brighter future. Over the next three years:

• Almost one million young people on Universal Credit across Great Britain will benefit from support designed to get them into employment and learning.
• For young people on Universal Credit and looking for work, we will create guaranteed jobs for almost 55,000 young people, giving them the start they need; alongside nearly 300,000 additional work experience and training opportunities.
• Additionally, we will further expand our Youth Hubs to over 360 to every local area of Great Britain.

Through Pathways to Work we are building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. This will be the biggest investment in support for disabled people and those with health conditions in at least a generation. We anticipate that, once fully rolled out, the Pathways to Work Guarantee will offer a comprehensive range of support including: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.

Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support available to disabled people and people with health conditions, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people and people with health conditions might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships.

Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn will lead on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability. Reporting in Summer 2026.