Young people who refuse worktraining or education will face “consequences” in the context of new government plans.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said this morning that those who “repeatedly refuse” to take up these opportunities will lose their benefits, a suggestion that a mental health The campaigner warned it would be “terrible” for young people with mental health problems.

The government plans to introduce a new ‘youth guarantee’, providing more apprenticeships and basic training to almost a million economically inactive young people.

Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Kendall said: “If you’re out of work or lack basic skills when you’re young, it can have lifelong consequences.

“It is very detrimental for young people not to have skills or not to work. We do not want this future for our young people.

“For individuals who repeatedly refuse to accept training or professional responsibilities, sanctions will be imposed on their services.

“We believe in our responsibility to provide these new opportunities, and that is what we will do. But young people will have to take charge.

The Work and Pensions Secretary has not ruled out scrapping current benefits under Labor’s plans.

Kendall’s warning comes as almost 2.8 million people are currently out of work due to long-term illness and a further 1.5 million people are unemployed.

The Work and Pensions Secretary argued today that there are people who could work but choose not to.

She told the BBC today: “I know from speaking to our job coaches, our fantastic job coaches in the job centers, that there are people who could work, but d Others don’t.

“But I think they’re in the minority.”

The Prime Minister, for his part, declared a crackdown on “criminals” who “game the system”, telling the Mail on Sunday that the Bill on increasing welfare benefits was “ruining our society”.

Kendall promises “major reforms” to work and pensions, including reforming employment agencies into a “genuine public employment service”.

A mental health campaigner and crisis responder has warned of the “dark” consequences of the Government’s plan to cut welfare benefits for young people who do not enter work, training or education.

John Junior, 36, nominated for a BAFTA for a Channel 4 documentary on suicide, said: “The benefits keep young people safe. If you take them away, they will feel helpless.

“They will feel like the ground is swallowing them up.”

“Young people are being deprived of choice.

“The government is trying to force young people to do something they don’t want to do.”

Junior is concerned that young people suffering from mental health problems are waiting “months and months” on waiting lists for help and are unable to hold down employment.

The mental health campaigner added: “Half the people I speak to can’t get out of bed and brush their teeth. What will they be like if they have to go to training?

“A lot of dark things will happen to people eventually.”

The number of young people who report being out of work, training or education due to a mental health problem has doubled in the last ten years.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said there was a “real mental health problem in this country” and promised the Government would provide more mental health support to those suffering.

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