Young people 'who work part-time on minimum wage earn £100 less than those claiming sickness benefits'

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER and TOM MIDLANE Published: 01:52, 27 July 2026 | Updated: 01:53, 27 July 2026 Young people who work part-time on minimum wage earn £100 less than those claiming sickness benefits, it has been revealed. But Andy Burnham is planning a crackdown on youth sickness benefits in a bid to fund his social care spending spree and increase the defence budget to stop Wes Streeting from walking. Under the proposed scheme, which is similar to one in the Netherlands, young people will be stripped of their payments unless they undertake training or complete voluntary work. The measures are intended to help slash the UK's bloated £333billion welfare bill. While the move is likely to be a hit with the electorate, Mr Burnham could face intense pushback from the Left of his own party.  It was this issue which caused Sir Keir Starmer to suffer a humiliating climbdown after backbench Labour MPs launched a full-blown rebellion over his welfare plans in June last year.  The former prime minister was accused of trying to push through 'the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne', David Cameron's then-Chancellor.  Teenagers claiming a personal independence payment (Pip) for anxiety currently receive £100 more per week than someone of the same age who is working in a full-time minimum wage role, according to The Times. The Prime Minister is planning a crackdown on youth sickness benefits in a bid to fund his social care spending spree  Andy Burnham is also hoping to find an additional £4.75billion for the UK Armed Forces to stop his new Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, from walking More than two thirds of those receiving the maximum Pip payment of £194 per week suffer with mental health or neurodivergent spectrum conditions including anxiety, depression, autism and ADHD.  Mr Burnham is also actively considering plans to scrap both council tax and stamp duty, The i Paper has reported. Treasury officials were reportedly already looking at ways to overhaul how property is taxed before he became PM. There are two major models being considered. The first is a proportional property tax, which would sweep away both council tax and stamp duty and replace them with a flat 0.48 per cent annual charge on the current value of the owner's home. The alternative option would be a land value tax which levies a charge on the value of the land rather than the property itself. Mr Burnham has said he has 'long been persuaded of the argument' for overhauling the system and has called council tax 'highly regressive'. The Prime Minister vowed in his first Downing Street address to 'bring the welfare bill down' and use the money saved to give a much-needed boost to Britain's defence after now-Chancellor John Healey resigned as Defence Secretary.  Just days before Mr Starmer announced he would quit No10, Mr Healey walked over a row about the Government's long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (Dip).  John Healey, now Mr Burnham's Chancellor, resigned from Sir Keir Starmer's Government over the former PM's failure to find the money for defence that Britain desperately needs  Sir Keir had planned to increase defence spending by just 0.08 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade, leading Mr Healey to accuse the ex-premier of being 'unable' to protect Britain from rising threats across the globe and face down former chancellor Rachel Reeves.  But now, as Chancellor, the ex-Defence Secretary is under pressure to find the money himself after Mr Starmer and Ms Reeves failed to do so.  Wes Streeting, who backed out of a potential future Labour leadership race to throw his weight behind Mr Burnham, has said he would walk if the PM cannot find an additional £4.75billion for the UK Armed Forces.  Mr Streeting said his resignation would be a 'matter of principle' when asked in a radio interview whether he would quit the role if Mr Burnham failed to find the money in his first Budget later this year.  A DWP spokesman said: 'We will always support those who genuinely need it, and we're working closely with disabled people as part of the Timms Review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future. 'We're also delivering the biggest youth employment reforms in a generation, backed by £2.5billion to create almost one million opportunities for young people to earn and learn, and Alan Milburn will set out further recommendations later this year on tackling the barriers they face.'