Extension of Young Person's Guarantee is latest victim of government cuts

The guarantee, which was first announced in last year's Budget, promises a job or training to every 18- to 24-year-old who has been out of work for six months or more. It was due to be extended into 2011/12 at a cost of £450m. But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said this extension will no longer go ahead, as he also cancelled 11 other projects agreed to by the previous government since the start of 2010.

Also included in the list of projects is the roll-out of the £290m Future Jobs Fund. A key part of the Young Person's Guarantee, the fund promised to create more than 100,000 jobs by March 2011, mainly aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds who had been out of work for more than six months.

Alexander said: "We are determined to tackle the unprecedented budget deficit and bad financial management we have seen over the past decade, but are equally determined to do this in a way that is fair and responsible.

"As a result of the poor decisions made by the previous government, I have taken the decision to cancel certain projects that do not represent good value for money and suspend others pending full consideration in the spending review."

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) accused the government of turning its back on a generation in a time of economic hardship.

"It is clear that young people and their futures are not a priority for this government, with nearly three-quarters of the £2bn cuts to projects agreed by the last government affecting young people and, in particular, young people who are looking for work," she said.

"The government has justified abolishing such key employment projects as the Young Person's Guarantee and the Future Jobs Fund, by stating that they do not represent its priorities or are not good value for money. Is the prospect of a life on the dole for young people better value for money in the government's terms or are they more concerned about how their fiscal policies are going to play on the stock market?

"With the possibility that Building Schools for the Future will also be axed and the huge cutback in university places, the prospects for young people look very bleak indeed."

A spokesman for the Association of Learning Providers said: "On a day when ministers at the business and skills department offered a firm commitment to support Neets in the 18- to 24-year-old age group, it is important that the other government departments involved in the response to the growth in Neets are singing off the same hymn-sheet. 

"Today's announcements about the Young Person's Guarantee and the Jobseeker's Guarantee give cause for concern and we now need a cross-government approach to the issue, especially as thousands of young people are about to leave school with an uncertain future."

The British Youth Council has also voiced concerns over the impact of the government announcement. Tim Coates, one of its young trustees, said: "One in five 16- to 24-year olds is now unemployed, according to figures released this week.  The government's announcement to cancel the planned roll-out to schemes supporting those of us who are unemployed is very worrying — we fear that by ending the Future Jobs Fund and cancelling the extension of the Young Person's Guarantee scheme we will see a further rise in unemployment figures. 

"We would like to see more detail about what the government will be doing for young people to replace these schemes. We may be all in it together, but some of us are more in it than others."