Prime Minister visits Wiltshire to promote work experience plans for young people
Andy Burnham also said cutting welfare costs will mean spending more elsewhere first
The Prime Minister has visited Wiltshire to highlight plans to create more work experience opportunities for young people and tackle barriers to employment.
Andy Burnham was at the Siemens Rail Technology Centre in Chippenham today (6 November).
While there, he built a circuit board alongside apprentices and took part in a Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lesson, which was livestreamed to classrooms across the country.
Speaking during the visit, Mr Burnham suggested that cutting the cost of welfare will require the Government to spend more in other areas, like education.
The Prime Minister is awaiting the outcome of a major review, which will recommend how to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) who are claiming benefits.
Mr Burnham was asked how his plans to give young people more career support fit with the need for government departments to cut their budgets, because of pledges to increase defence funding.
He told Times Radio:
"It is going to be difficult. I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but we will reprioritise, and we will find funding to build our response to the Milburn review."
He added:
"Of course, in time, the savings will come, and there will be a crossover point, but there will be a need to invest up front in young people. But it's an investment in society. It's the right investment to make."
Asked by the broadcaster whether he accepted the welfare bill would have to go up before it comes down, Mr Burnham said:
"It wouldn't be the welfare bill. It would be the investment in the support that teenagers need and the guarantees that I want to put in place for them.
"I would like young people to have, in this country, a guarantee of a 45-day work placement between 16 and 18. I have seen the change that they have made. They're linked to T-levels at the moment. I think they should be available to all young people who want a quality work placement of that kind."
Speaking to the BBC, the Prime Minister was pressed on when he hopes to see the welfare bill come down.
Mr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey have both faced scrutiny since the Budget for signalling they would like to see it reduced, without committing to whether this would happen before a general election.
Mr Burnham told the BBC welfare spending could come down "in time" as a result of spending more on support for Neets.
Pressed on whether this would be before an election, he said:
"You do it in a way that's sustainable though. And if it could be this parliament, as soon as possible is the thing I would say to you, would want to see that change, that balance shift as quickly as possible."
Ministers are expected to set out their response to the Timms review, into disability benefits reform, and the Milburn review on getting more Neets into work in the coming weeks.
The Government is looking at how to keep the rising welfare bill under control.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts it will rise to £431 billion by the 2031-32 financial year, largely driven by health-related and pensioner benefits.
More than half of all welfare spending on the Government's books goes towards pensioners, including the state pension and other benefits.
The stem lesson was hosted by TV presenter Maddie Moate, with year five and six pupils from Monkton Park Primary School in Chippenham.
Ms Moate asked Mr Burnham and the children a series of questions about the braking distance of moving vehicles.
She said:
"I've got a quiz question for everyone. What do you think the stopping distance of a car travelling at 30mph is - so this is a car kind of travelling at the speed it would normally go along maybe a high street, and it needs to stop.
"How far, how many metres, do you think it will take to stop that car travelling at 30mph?"
Mr Burnham said "I'm thinking 20", while the children guessed one metre and six metres.
"The answer is 14 metres," Ms Moate said.
"There's no wrong answers here, we're getting involved, this is science, we've got to be curious, right?"
Asked about the distance it would take a car travelling at 60mph to stop, the Prime Minister guessed 30 metres, while the children guessed 28 and six.
"The answer is 55 metres," Ms Moate said.
Mr Burnham made light of his incorrect answers.
"That shows why I'm a bad driver, doesn't it," he said.
According to the Highway Code, the stopping distance of a car travelling at 30mph is 23 metres.
That is made up of nine metres of thinking distance and 14 metres of braking distance.
The stopping distance of a car travelling at 60mph is 73 metres.
That is made up of 18 metres of thinking distance and 55 metres of braking distance.