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19th June, 2014, 05:22 AM
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/70947000/jpg/_70947380_hi019489498%281%29.jpg Labour leader Ed Miliband is set to say: "We must reshape our social security system"
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.
The opposition leader is to set out a range of welfare reforms in a speech at the IPPR think tank on Thursday.
Labour said the policies could be achieved without increasing the overall welfare bill.
But the Conservatives said they 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."
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.
'Perversity of system'
"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.
"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.
"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."
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.
"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.
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.
"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."
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.
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BBC News - Labour pledges to curb welfare entitlements (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27911518)
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.
The opposition leader is to set out a range of welfare reforms in a speech at the IPPR think tank on Thursday.
Labour said the policies could be achieved without increasing the overall welfare bill.
But the Conservatives said they 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."
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.
'Perversity of system'
"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.
"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.
"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."
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.
"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.
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.
"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."
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC News - Labour pledges to curb welfare entitlements (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27911518)