Work and Pensions Secretary launches £45 million Youth Guarantee scheme at Anfield Stadium
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has pledged to ensure young people are given the “chances and choices” they need to forge brighter futures, as she launched a new £45 million scheme designed to support 18 to 21-year-olds into education, employment, or training.
Speaking at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium on Thursday, where she attended a careers fair, Ms Kendall unveiled the Government’s Youth Guarantee programme. The initiative aims to provide direct pathways for thousands of young people, including care leavers and those at risk of long-term unemployment.
“The goal is simple: every young person should be earning or learning,” said the Leicester West MP. “We want them to have real opportunities — not just to survive, but to thrive. It’s about making sure they get the chances and choices they deserve to build a better life.”
Ms Kendall was visibly moved by stories from attendees, particularly a young woman supported by the Thrive charity after the death of her mother. “She’s now thriving in a construction apprenticeship,” Ms Kendall said. “If you’ve just lost your parents, building any kind of future can feel utterly overwhelming. That’s the real-world impact this programme is about — making life better for young people who’ve faced extraordinary challenges.”
The announcement follows a major welfare speech delivered by Ms Kendall the day before, in which she defended controversial plans to cut £5 billion from the benefits system. Critics, including more than 100 Labour MPs, have urged a rethink on the reforms, warning of their potential impact on vulnerable families.
However, Ms Kendall maintained that reforms were essential to reverse a long-standing trend of underachievement and dependency. “We’re spending far too much money on the cost of failure,” she told reporters. “People who are able to work deserve to be given the tools and support to do so. For far too long, people have been written off and left to languish without proper guidance. That’s not good enough.”
While she stopped short of confirming whether the controversial two-child benefit cap would be lifted, she did hint at forthcoming announcements. “We’ll soon be publishing a bold and ambitious child poverty strategy,” she said. “There’s much more to do, but our commitment is unwavering — we’re determined to tackle poverty and increase opportunity.”
The new investment is part of the Government’s broader “Youth Guarantee” and will see regions including the West of England, Tees Valley, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the West Midlands, East Midlands, and two areas of London receive £5 million each to become trailblazers. These regions will match young people with training and employment opportunities suited to their needs and aspirations.
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Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, welcomed the announcement, describing the programme as a long-overdue intervention. “When I travel across our region, I meet some of the most talented young people in the country,” he said. “But talent alone isn’t enough if opportunity is absent. Too many have been held back not by a lack of potential, but by systemic barriers. I’ve made it my mission to break those down.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson echoed the sentiment, describing the scheme as a “genuine game-changer”. She said: “Liverpool is leading the way as a trailblazer, ensuring every young person gets the support they need at the critical early stages of their adult life. We won’t rest until everyone, no matter their background, has a level playing field to succeed.”
The Ministry of Work and Pensions has said it hopes the Youth Guarantee will serve as a blueprint for wider national reform, aiming to create a future in which all young people can look ahead with confidence, ambition, and the support they need to flourish.
