Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has said young disabled people will be placed “at the front of the queue” as the government expands its Jobs Guarantee. The programme funds six months of paid work for eligible young people who have struggled to enter employment.
McFadden welcomed the proposed expansion on Saturday, calling it “the kind of change we need”. His comments followed reporting by the Mirror that firms hiring young disabled people would have their wages covered for six months.
The wage subsidy is an established feature of the Jobs Guarantee: the government already funds employment costs for eligible participants for up to 25 hours a week at the relevant minimum wage. The new point in McFadden’s statement is the commitment to prioritise young disabled people. The detailed rules for how that priority will work have not yet been set out in an official announcement.
A paid route into work
Under the existing scheme, 18- to 24-year-olds who have claimed Universal Credit and looked for work for 18 months can be offered a six-month paid job matched to their skills. Participants can also receive support to address barriers to work and help them move into longer-term employment. The first young people have already started roles, with a wider rollout planned.
Covering the employer’s initial costs can give a young person the chance to build experience, earn a wage and demonstrate what they can do. For disabled participants, the quality of support at work will matter alongside the subsidy. The Business Disability Forum has stressed that opportunities need to be genuinely accessible, with appropriate support and adjustments from employers.
The government says more than 90,000 young people are expected to be supported into work through the Jobs Guarantee over three years. That is a programme-wide figure, not a published target for disabled participants.
What the expansion must clarify
The key question is whether prioritisation changes access for disabled young people who do not meet the current 18-month Universal Credit requirement, or whether it determines who is offered places first among those already eligible. Ministers have yet to publish that detail.
There is also the longer-term test of whether a six-month subsidised job leads to sustained employment. McFadden’s commitment puts young disabled people more firmly at the centre of the programme; its impact will depend on accessible jobs, effective support and what happens when the six months of funding end.
