There is some evidence to suggest that features of the social security system – particularly health and disability benefit assessments – may be discouraging some young people from entering work, education or  training. Fear of losing benefits, mistrust of a perceived hostile assessment process, and high refusal rates among younger claimants appear to particularly deter engagement. Evidence of poor‑quality decision‑making reinforces these concerns.

Our submission focuses on the extent to which features of the design of the social security system are stopping young people from participating in education, employment or training. In particular, we look at the ways in which young people receiving health and disability benefits are discouraged from trying work by the design of the assessment process for these benefits.