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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has sounded the alarm over what he describes as an impending “economic catastrophe and moral failure” linked to nearly one million young people in the UK who are not engaged in education, employment, or training. In a recent opinion piece for the Times newspaper, Burnham emphasized the urgent need for government intervention to support young people’s success, rather than continually funding failure through the welfare system. He stated, “Benefits will become the backstop, not the starting point,” underscoring a shift in focus towards proactive investment in youth opportunities.
Burnham highlighted several factors contributing to the current crisis, such as the effects of two years of Covid lockdowns, the negative impact of social media on young people’s confidence and sense of belonging, an education system that prioritizes a university pathway, limited job market opportunities, and shortcomings from previous governments. Drawing on the latest Office for National Statistics figures, he noted that close to a million individuals aged 16 to 24 fall into the NEET category (not in education, employment, or training). “This is an economic catastrophe and a moral failure. And it must change,” he wrote, stressing that the welfare system often only provides financial support without additional help or pathways to employment.
The Prime Minister outlined a new approach to welfare that would shift its starting point from merely determining benefit entitlement to focusing on young people’s ambitions and the support needed to achieve them. “The safety net will always be there for those who cannot work. But if someone can work with the right help, the government has a duty to do everything in its power to make that happen,” Burnham asserted. Later this week, the government plans to reveal initiatives offering thousands of new apprenticeships and work placements across sectors including construction, accounting, consulting, and law. However, this strategy has already faced criticism from the Conservative Party, with Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Julia Lopez blaming Labour’s policies for harming youth job opportunities.
Additionally, Burnham confirmed the forthcoming publication next month of a comprehensive review on youth employment, which he pledged to address earnestly. The review, led by former health secretary Alan Milburn, calls for reallocating resources from welfare benefits to enhanced employment support programs. Milburn argued in an interview with the Guardian that the current system fails young people, saying, “This is not a workshy, snowflake generation… The system isn’t delivering what young people want, which is a job.” He criticized the government for spending 25 times more on benefits for young people than on efforts to get them into work, labeling the high NEET rates as “shameful.” Meanwhile, Chancellor John Healey affirmed at the Labour party conference in September that addressing welfare spending represents a “moral duty” for the government, with his first budget announcement scheduled for 28 October
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