New youth guarantee for eligible young people and funding for libraries in all primary schools

The Chancellor has today, Monday 29 September, announced a 'Youth Guarantee' for eligible young people, as well as funding to guarantee a library for all primary schools by the end of this parliament.

The announcements also included a new investigations team to go after fraudulent Bounce Back Loan claimants and Public Procurement.

Youth Guarantee 

Every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work through a new Youth Guarantee. This new initiative will build upon existing employment support and sector-based work academies currently being delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions. The scheme forms part of the government's aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment.   

The Youth Guarantee will include a targeted backstop, where every eligible unemployed young person on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be provided guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment.   

School libraries

Th Chancellor has also committed over £10 million in funding to guarantee a library for all primary schools by the end of this parliament.  

One in seven primary schools in the UK do not have access to a library according to figures from the National Literacy Trust. That rises to one in four for disadvantaged areas, and almost half of schools in England without a library are located in the North. Government will set out further details of the scheme in due course.  

Covid fraud

As part of the Chancellor's plans to recover lost Covid funds it was confirmed that a new investigations team will go after fraudulent Bounce Back Loan claimants. Claimants who have yet to respond to the voluntary repayment scheme risk court. New powers for the government will make detection easier and allow the government to levy civil penalties, which will ensure that those who have defrauded the taxpayer face the consequences. 

Public procurement  

Plans to reform public procurement to back British suppliers – supporting economic growth, creating jobs and providing British businesses with greater security – have also been announced. 

Following a consultation on public procurement process, the government will support businesses that make and invest in Britain by legislating for a new economic security power when parliamentary time allows. This would help protect our national security interests, that will create new flexibilities for awarding contracts in key sectors, including shipbuilding. The purpose of this power would be to protect our national security. This will help contribute to safeguard UK jobs and strengthen domestic manufacturing.   

The reforms harness the government's £385 billion annual procurement spend as a strategic lever to protect supply chains, create opportunities for local businesses and social enterprises, and deliver greater value for taxpayers. Across strategically important sectors essential for our economic security and to protect our national security, British jobs, skills and manufacturing will be prioritised when the government procures from businesses.   

Shipbuilding is a key sector set to benefit, with weight given to British firms for government vessel contracts. The Ministry of Defence will create an Action Plan for Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology which will allow us to seize on these new procurement powers and emerging opportunities. This will protect jobs in UK shipyards and rebuild Britain's shipbuilding capabilities. This follows the recent announcement of the UK's biggest ever warship export deal with Norway worth £10 billion - supporting over 4,000 UK jobs and delivering on the government's Plan for Change.  

Further information  

Youth Guarantee

• This will be funded from within existing budgets. We will set out details at Budget 2025.  

• Delivery will be led by the Department for Work and Pensions, building on existing employment support and sectoral work placements.  

• Further details, including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at the Autumn Budget following further engagement including with employers and the Devolved Governments.  

Primary School Library funding

• Funding for this scheme will come from £132.5 million of Dormant Assets unlocked to support young people to access opportunities, announced by the Chancellor and the Culture Secretary on 2 June 2025. Government will provide further updates on this scheme in due course.   

• Use of Dormant Asset funding is devolved – Devolved Administrations control how they use their own Dormant Assets.    

• Research by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) has shown that 1 in 7 state primary schools in England do not have a library space  

• Separate research has shown the regional breakdown of primary schools in England that do not have access to a library space    

  • North East: 18%   

  • North West: 16%   

  • West Midlands: 13%   

  • East Midlands: 12%   

  • Yorkshire and the Humber: 12%   

  • South West: 9%   

  • London: 8%   

  • East of England: 7%   

  • South East: 6%  

Covid enforcement

• People who still owe Covid scheme money will be pursued by a new fraud investigations team armed with new powers to issue huge fines  

• The new unit will make sure that fraudulent loan claimants face investigation, disqualification, and compensation orders if they fail to use the voluntary repayment scheme.  

• The voluntary repayment window opened in September, giving individuals and businesses until December 2025 to make a plan to return pandemic money. The scheme is the last chance for people who wrongly claimed support to clear their conscience before the tougher sanctions follow.  

• The new unit will be armed with enhanced powers and the ability to issue fines of up to 100% of the value of an outstanding loan to suspected fraudsters.  

• Recent successful prosecutions demonstrate the government's determination to recover public funds. A London fraudster was jailed for using £130,000 in fraudulent loans to fund trading operations in Ghana, and a Yorkshire businessman was ordered to repay over £115,000 after falsely claiming his scaffolding company had half a million pounds turnover.  

• The Insolvency Service has already secured over 2,000 director disqualifications and 62 criminal convictions related to Covid support scheme abuse.  

• Meanwhile another £8 million of suspected fraud has been reported through the Covid fraud reporting website since its launch in September.  

• The new investigations team will initially run as a test and learn pilot, backed with £17.5 million of new money to ensure that those who exploited the system face the consequences.