Prime Minister Andy Burnham has issued a stark warning that the UK faces an "economic catastrophe and moral failure" due to nearly one million young people currently not in education, employment, or training (Neets). Writing in the Times newspaper, Mr. Burnham laid out his case for the government to "invest in the success of our young people" instead of continuing to "pay for failure through the benefits system."
In his opinion column, published in Monday's paper, the Prime Minister stated that benefits should become "the backstop, not the starting point." He described the current situation as reflecting a "generation being denied its chance to get on in life," adding, "This is an economic catastrophe and a moral failure. And it must change."
Later this week, the government is expected to announce new plans aimed at providing thousands of job opportunities for young people. However, the Conservative Party has already criticized the government's youth employment strategy, labeling it "a disaster."
Mr. Burnham attributed the Neets crisis to several factors, including two years of Covid lockdowns, social media's erosion of "confidence and sense of belonging," an education system overly focused on the "university route," job markets with "too few opportunities," and failures of previous governments.
He also flagged a significant shift in the approach to welfare, stating that it "will no longer begin by establishing which benefits a young person is entitled to" but rather "begin with their ambitions and the help they need to achieve them." The Prime Minister affirmed that "the safety net will always be there for those who cannot work," but stressed that if someone can work with the right assistance, "the government has a duty to do everything in its power to make that happen."
Ministers are set to release plans this week for tens of thousands of new youth apprenticeships and placements. These opportunities will span various sectors, including the construction industry, as well as accounting, consulting, and legal firms.
Responding to the government's stance, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Julia Lopez asserted, "Labour have been a disaster for youth jobs. Their tax hikes and red tape have made it harder for businesses to hire, invest and grow, destroying opportunities for young people looking to take their first step on the career ladder."
The Prime Minister confirmed that a long-awaited full review of young people and work will be published next month, promising to take its recommendations "seriously." The review's author, former health secretary Alan Milburn, previously argued in a Sunday interview with the Guardian for the need to "redistribute money from the welfare system to more employment support."
Mr. Milburn dismissed the notion of a "workshy, snowflake generation," stating, "If we provide more opportunities and we provide more support, the overwhelming majority of young people will take that, because that's what they want. The system isn't delivering what young people want, which is a job." He calculated that the government currently spends 25 times more on benefits for young people than on initiatives to help them find work, describing the present rate of Neets as "shameful."
Chancellor John Healey, who is scheduled to present his first budget on 28 October, told the Labour party conference in September that the government had a "moral duty" to address welfare spending. Milburn also suggested that employers should engage in teaching primary-age children about work.
