The new payment, worth up to £4,500 per household each year, will be available to eligible families receiving Universal Credit. It comes after the Social Security Advisory Committee warned of an "apprenticeship cliff-edge", where families can lose benefit entitlement once a young person starts an apprenticeship. If the apprentice earned £258 a week, the household would still be around £80 a week worse off overall. Education Secretary Lucy Powell said: "Too many young people face unnecessary barriers to apprenticeships, college places and training." The announcement has been welcomed by children's charity Action for Children, which says it regularly sees young people reject apprenticeship opportunities because their families cannot afford to lose benefits.