Whately criticises advice for graduates to claim benefits after university
Helen Whately, the Conservatives’ shadow work and pensions secretary, said young people’s mental health difficulties should not automatically prevent them from working, and criticised what she described as a growing expectation that school or university leavers would claim benefits. Her remarks came as the party made welfare reform a focus of its conference, arguing that claimants should be better off in work and that young people should receive stronger support to find jobs.
Whately said she had heard of university students being advised to prepare to claim benefits because finding work would be difficult. Centre for Social Justice research cited in the article found 707,000 graduates aged 16 to 64 were out of work and claiming at least one benefit in 2024, up by more than 200,000 since 2019; 400,000 claimed Universal Credit and almost 240,000 reported being off work due to sickness. Conservative proposals would require school leavers to take intensive work coaching before accessing Universal Credit, with a reduced Subsistence Allowance possible after six months if they did not find or accept work.
- Helen Whately says young people should not be deterred from work by minor mental health conditions.
- 707,000 graduates were out of work and claiming benefits in 2024, according to cited research.
- Conservative plans would require school leavers to take part in work coaching.
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The number of university graduates claiming state benefits in Britain has increased significantly over recent years. In 2024, approximately 707,000 graduates aged 16 to 64 were claiming at least one benefit, compared with around 500,000 in 2019. Of these, about 400,000 were claiming Universal Credit and nearly 240,000 reported being unable to work due to ill health.
Young people leaving university increasingly encounter expectations or advice that claiming benefits may be necessary or inevitable. Universities have reportedly advised students to prepare for benefit claims because finding work could prove difficult. This has prompted questions about whether state support is being presented as a normal expectation for new graduates rather than as support for those in genuine hardship.
The Conservative Party has made welfare reform a key policy focus, arguing that young people should receive stronger support to find work rather than to claim benefits. The party is proposing changes including mandatory job coaching for school leavers and potential reductions in benefit payments for those not actively seeking employment. Helen Whately, the Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary, is leading the party's discussion of these welfare proposals.
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The case for
Supporters of Whately's position argue that whilst mental health matters greatly, it should not automatically preclude work, and that encouraging a culture where graduates expect to claim benefits rather than seek employment undermines their long-term wellbeing and self-sufficiency. They contend that work itself is often beneficial for mental health and that intensive job coaching, combined with proper incentives, can help young people develop skills and confidence to find sustainable employment, breaking what they see as an emerging cycle of dependency.
The case against
Critics argue that mental health barriers and broader economic challenges—including job scarcity, underemployment, and wages insufficient for living costs—are real obstacles that cannot be dismissed as mere cultural drift. They contend that reducing support for struggling young people risks pushing vulnerable individuals into deeper hardship, and that work coaching cannot substitute for genuine employment opportunities or address underlying health conditions; they emphasise that welfare should protect dignity during genuine difficulty, not be weaponised to encourage work at any cost.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Students being told to sign on for benefits straight out of university as living on welfare handouts seen as a ‘lifestyle choice’, says Helen Whately”.