Benefit changes risk making young people homeless, says YMCA

A report by the YMCA found that government plans to remove automatic entitlement of the housing benefit for 18- to 21-year-olds claiming universal credit from April 2017 could leave a number of vulnerable groups of young people at risk.

The YMCA said that by removing automatic entitlement to housing benefit, the government is in danger of inadvertently taking away support from the young people who need it the most and "exposing many more vulnerable people to the risk of becoming homeless".

The report concludes that the results being sought by removing automatic entitlement to housing benefit are "largely already happening".

"Increasing numbers of young people are now staying at home for longer and opting not to claim benefits, while the small numbers that do leave home and claim are increasingly doing so for shorter periods of time," it states.

"Among the young people claiming unemployment benefits and housing benefit there will be those few who seek to take advantage of the social security system and it is appropriate that the government want to tackle this, both in encouraging more young people into work and in looking to deliver savings.

"However, for a significant number of young people that are claiming both unemployment benefits and housing benefit, it is not a choice.

"Instead it is due to them having a clear need for support – whether that is having to look after a child, having recently left care, having been made homeless, living in supported accommodation or being estranged from their family."