Best thing we can offer young people is a job, not benefits, says chancellor

The chancellor has warned against allowing Britain's benefits bill to balloon while not offering young people opportunities.

John Healey told Labour's annual conference in Liverpool that cutting welfare spending was "more than an economic must - it's a moral duty".

"The best thing we can offer a young person is not a benefit payment - it's a first job with training and a wage," he said.

He announced the expansion of a Local Apprenticeships Service for mayors in England, which he said would deliver thousands more apprenticeships for young people.

Healey's speech comes as he faces pressure to cut public spending or raise taxes ahead of next month's Budget to bring down government borrowing costs.

In an attempt to reassure the markets, he said all promises the government made would be "built on the rock of fiscal discipline" with him and Prime Minister Andy Burnham "united on meeting the fiscal rules".

Fiscal rules are the government's self-imposed constraints to manage decisions on spending and tax.

The Budget would "give families and businesses a bit of breathing space", the chancellor said.