BENEFITS must not be allowed to kill off young people’s ambitions, a review into youth jobs and training will say today.
Labour grandee Alan Milburn warns a “lost generation” are being pushed onto benefits.
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Labour grandee Alan Milburn warns a ‘lost generation’ are being pushed onto benefits Credit: PA
Benefits must not be allowed to kill off young people’s ambitions, a review into youth jobs and training will say Credit: Getty
He says ministers must confront the “whole-system failure” leaving young people trapped on State handouts.
Nearly one million youngsters are not in employment, education or training — dubbed Neets — with six in ten having never had a job.
The former Health Secretary warns: “Benefits should not become the place where ambition goes to die.”
He was tasked with carrying out a review after Labour ditched plans to cut welfare amid a backbench revolt.
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His interim findings say the number of Neets could soar from one in eight to one in six within five years.
Writing in The Jattvibe, Mr Milburn added: “We need to move from a welfare state that manages failure to a working state that helps young people build skills, confidence and a future.”
Hospitality vacancies have halved in the past four years, while Saturday jobs are said to be in “freefall”.
Apprenticeship starts fell by 35 per cent in a decade. Some 84 per cent of Neets want a job or training, but said there is no help to find them.
The Centre for Social Justice think tank claimed the youth jobs crisis was fuelled by soaring immigration.
It said non-EU under-25s on UK payrolls have risen by 290,000 since January 2020 — compared with just 11,000 extra young British workers.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “We know there is more to do.”
