Labour makes pledge to ensure 'no young person is left behind'

Premier League joins scheme to get jobless into work or education

- Pippa Crerar

Teenagers will get skills training at the Premier League, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel Four as part of a government drive to get hundreds of thousands into jobs or education and make sure "no young person is left behind".

Some of Britain's biggest cultural and sporting institutions will provide work or training opportunities as part of a £45m "trailblazer" scheme across eight English regions, including Liverpool, Tees Valley and the East Midlands.

Ministers are announcing sweeping changes to the welfare system and out-of-work support today as part of a plan to get more people into work and cut the welfare bill, which has risen since the Covid crisis, with more than 9 million people now economically inactive.

However, further measures to overhaul the multibillion-pound health and disability benefits system are not expected until next year. The government has already said that it will honour Conservative proposals to make £3bn worth of cuts - but will do so through its own reforms.

Labour wants to tackle the one in eight young people aged 16 to 24 who are not currently in education, employment or training. Ministers have already warned that they will lose their benefits if they refuse to take up opportunities.

"Almost 1 million young people are neither earning nor learning," Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, told the Guardian. "That's bad for them and bad for the country. It's time for this change.

"These organisations are already doing inspiring work with disadvantaged young people and helping them build the skills and confidence to get on. We need to champion this and build on it - because our young people deserve the best start in life."