The UK government is considering scrapping the £217-a-month health element of Universal Credit as part of a wider push to move young benefit claimants into work, according to reports first published by The Guardian.

The proposals under discussion would replace the payment with more intensive back-to-work support, including subsidised jobs, employment schemes and mental health provision. For employers, the plans signal a possible expansion of state-subsidised entry-level hiring aimed at the cohort of 16- to 24-year-olds currently outside education, employment or training — a group the government describes as numbering around one million.

A government source framed the move within former minister Alan Milburn's forthcoming review of worklessness and economic inactivity among young people. "We will be bringing forward a comprehensive package of support and reform to tackle the scandal of a million young people not in education, employment or training," the source said. "The details are yet to be decided, but we are committed to enabling work and opportunity, while always protecting those unable to work."

The numbers behind the rethink

Milburn's interim report, published in May, found that for every £1 spent on employment support in the UK, £25 was spent on benefit payments. That imbalance sits at the centre of his argument for restructuring support around work rather than income replacement.

He has called for a "tough love" approach: greater employment support for young people on benefits, in exchange for what he terms a "duty to engage".

"There's a deal. And the deal is that as the opportunities increase, so must the obligations because otherwise we will end up with a situation where more and more young people are consigned to a life on benefits," Milburn said.

"And young people have an obligation to engage with that. And I know that sounds like tough love. But tough love is what is needed here."

Health conditions dominate young claimant cases

The policy debate is unfolding against a sharp shift in the profile of young claimants. Nearly two-thirds of those aged between 16 and 24 who claim Personal Independence Payments list ADHD, autism, anxiety or depression as their primary condition.

Milburn said last month that claimants of health and disability benefits who are capable of working — particularly those with conditions such as mild ADHD and anxiety — should have an "obligation" to take up employment support.

The current system does little to enforce engagement. Less than half of benefit expenditure for claimants aged 16 to 24 carries any work-related requirement, according to figures cited alongside Milburn's review.

His stance has drawn cross-party echoes. Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately this week repeated the call for young benefit claimants to face firmer conditions, having previously proposed a "get to work" scheme to reduce Neet numbers.

What it could mean for people processes

No detail is final. The government source stressed that "the details are yet to be decided", and the future of the £217 health element — which functions as additional income support within Universal Credit for those with limited capability for work — remains a matter of internal discussion rather than announced policy.

But the direction of travel raises concrete questions for HR leaders. Subsidised job schemes, if they materialise, would create new pipelines of young workers with mental health conditions and neurodivergent profiles, placing fresh weight on onboarding, occupational health provision and reasonable adjustment processes. The concentration of ADHD, autism, anxiety and depression among young PIP claimants suggests employers participating in any future scheme would need line-manager training and wellbeing infrastructure ready before intake begins.

The timing also matters. Milburn's full review of youth worklessness is forthcoming, and any legislative change to Universal Credit conditions would require parliamentary process — meaning employers likely have a preparatory window rather than an immediate obligation.

For now, HR teams hiring at entry level should watch two things: whether the health element is cut or reformed, and how any subsidised employment programme is structured. Milburn's framing — more opportunity, paired with more obligation — suggests the government wants employers as delivery partners in moving a million young people off benefits, and the full package will set the terms of that partnership.