Young people ‘feel they cannot rely on government for financial support’ amid soaring bills

The majority of young people fear they cannot rely on the government for financial support as energy bills soar, a new survey suggests.

Some 61 per cent of people aged between 16 and 25 said they were not confident the government would provide the help they needed during the cost of living crisis, according to a questionnaire by the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA).

The poll of 2,000 people, including 260 who were aged under 25, also highlights how young people are experiencing anxiety because of housing costs and insecure work.

Toby Murray, who is from the RSA and authored a report based on the poll’s conclusions, said the government must act to avoid “condemning this generation to a lifetime of financial difficulty”.

He said: “Young people are often criticised by older generations for their attitudes to work, money, and opportunities.

“This is unfair. Our research shows that young people feel a deep sense of personal failure and responsibility when it comes to financial matters.

“They are not looking for handouts, but they worry about where support will come from if they need it.

“As a society we urgently need to look at fresh legislation and public policy ideas otherwise we will be condemning this generation to a lifetime of financial difficulty.”

Mr Murray added that it is “harder to access” sources of support including benefits and trade union membership than in previous generations.

The poll was conducted by the RSA in partnership with the Health Foundation.

One of the survey’s participants, Arthur, 22, who works full-time at a deli in east London and pays rent to his parents, described living on a zero-hours contract as “absolutely terrifying”.

He said that being let go from his previous job was “the scariest point” of his life, adding: “I was kind of like, oh my goodness, I’m going to have to write off a whole month of not being paid.

“It’s a zero-hours contract, so there’s is absolutely terrifying.“

Conor, a 24-year-old civil servant living in London said his “out of control” financial situation was “the biggest driver for anxiety” in his life, while Freya, 21, said she “relapsed with depression” after choosing to commute to work in London from her family home in Bristol due to the cost of housing in the capital.

An earlier RSA poll of 1178 people aged between 16 and 24 also suggested that 47% of young people are in a “financially precarious” position.