As the government outlines radical changes to the benefits system, ITV News West Country asked Ablaze CEO Sally Melvin what impact this could have on young people in the West of England
On 18th March 2025, the government outlined radical changes to the benefits system to get more people into work and save £5 billion by 2030.
These changes included tightening the eligibility criteria for claiming disability benefits, as well as preventing young people aged under 22 from claiming the incapacity benefit top-up to universal credit.
ITV News West Country asked Ablaze CEO Sally Melvin about the impact this could have on young people in the West of England.
Ablaze runs employment and skills programmes to help young people get the skills and confidence they need to unlock their potential and gain meaningful employment. We also run programmes in schools to support young people with key skills and to give students an insight into workplaces and career pathways. If you would like to get involved in our programmes, please contact us.
For 20 years we have supported a generation of young people from their early years to employment. Help us to support the next. You can donate to Ablaze here, or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to look out for our 20th anniversary fundraising campaign.
