Cost of living affects us all - what can we do for young people

Young people have been hit especially hard. Just look at the nearly one million young people not in employment, education or training, as well as the high rates of youth unemployment. As well as entering the labour market during an era of stagnant pay growth and living standards, young people are also more likely to be in insecure work. It’s little surprise that they’re also much less likely to be homeowners than previous generations and are therefore more likely to be reliant on the private rental sector.  

To turn this trajectory around, to get some money in young people’s pockets and set them up for the best possible future, we must take steps to remove barriers to work and study. 

Transport  

The Government has already announced a re-instatement of the £2 bus fare cap, which will make a huge difference to people’s ability to get around for work or leisure.  

But we know that transport is a major barrier to young people specifically accessing work, training and education. The recently published interim report from the Milburn Review, established to examine why so many young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET), identifies transport as a hidden barrier to their participation in the labour market: 

“Transport recurred repeatedly as a hidden driver of youth detachment from the labour market. Transport is the infrastructure of participation. If a young person cannot physically get to the college, the interview, the apprenticeship or the job, nothing else the system offers matters. For too many young people, they cannot”.  

It adds that 

“For a NEET young person with no income who is not claiming benefits, public transport is not a cost. It is an impossibility.” 

To remove transport as a hidden barrier, the TUC is calling for everyone under 22 to receive free bus travel. This would ease costs and help young people access education, training and work opportunities. 

A similar scheme already exists in Scotland and has impressive uptake.  Evaluation of the scheme has shown that it has been “highly successful and beneficial for young people”, providing them with greater independence, reducing the amount of young people missing out on education and work opportunities due to access or travel restrictions, and opening up new opportunities for work and education.  

Introducing the scheme in England would also build upon similar schemes in London, where free bus travel is available for under 18s, and Manchester, where free bus travel is currently available for 16- to 18-year-olds but is set to be extended to 11- to 18-year-olds from January 2027. Wales also has a popular scheme of £1 bus fares for young people.  

It’s time we got the rest of the country up to speed and give all under 22s in England free bus travel.  

Case for youth learning allowance   

Every young person no matter their background, should be able to stay in education or training without having to worry about their finances. 

But we know that too many young people are struggling to make ends meet, especially since the Conservatives scrapped the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and replaced it with an inadequate scheme that doesn’t touch the sides.  

The cost-of-living crisis only strengthens the case for a youth learning allowance in England. Since EMA was scrapped in 2011, the cost of living has risen sharply, and young people face higher study-related costs, including equipment and digital access.  

We know financial help can make the difference between staying on or walking away – and countries that lead the way in bringing down their NEET rates provide far more support.  

The Government recognises that, which is why they’ve introduced a new bursary to support young people doing apprenticeships. It’s time that principle was applied to post-16 education too.  

The TUC proposes a new youth learning allowance, modelled on the former Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), while learning the lessons from some of the potential limitations of the former scheme. This allowance could help keep young people remain engaged in education and should form part of a wider package of support. 

While Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland provide an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) to young people to discourage them from disengaging from education, England is the outlier in having no such scheme.  

We propose the allowance should be available to young people who have started an education or training course in Further Education between the ages of 16 to 20. And the allowance could be a set £40 and for eligibility this goes to the young person whose family income is under £32,250, as an uprating of the threshold of the former EMA scheme 

A 2024 review of the Welsh EMA scheme recommended retaining targeted payments for post-16 learners from low-income households. The report also says - overall, while the EMA did not serve as the single determinant for students' decisions to stay in post-16 education, it played a substantial role in alleviating financial stress, enabling more focused study, and contributing to their overall well-being. 87 per cent of survey EMA recipients thought that the allowance either definitely or possibly helped them to attend school or college on a more regular basis. 

A youth learning allowance could help young people stay in education as part of a wider support package.