Labour needs system reset' to tackle youth unemployment, report to say

Almost a million young people are not in education or work, with youth unemployment rising. A commissioned review led by Alan Milburn says ministers have relied on disjointed jobs programmes rather than a cohesive strategy. The review calls for a fresh approach to overhauling welfare and jobs support for young people, including health and disability benefits. The goal should be a participation-first service aligned behind the shared objective that every young person can earn or learn. Experts warn of a youth jobs crisis, with official figures expected to show NEET numbers close to one million. Labour faces pressure from business leaders linking higher youth joblessness to increased employer national insurance contributions and changes to minimum wages.

"Labour has failed to tackle soaring youth unemployment and must launch a system reset involving a fresh attempt to overhaul health and disability benefits, a report commissioned by the government is to warn. Alan Milburn, who is leading a review into why almost a million young people are not in education or work, said ministers had so far responded with a series of disjointed jobs programmes. It's going in the wrong direction, Milburn said. When you look at that picture I guess our conclusion is it's a catastrophic systems failure."

"Efforts to support young people in education, health, and Labour's youth guarantee were very welcome steps, he said. However, he criticised Keir Starmer for lacking a cohesive strategy. My question is: who is joining the dots? If ever there was a case for mission-based government, this is it, he said. Is it laddering up to a [job market] participation-first service, where everybody is aligned behind the shared objective? Which is that every young person should be given the opportunity to earn or learn. And the answer to that question is: that's not what's happening."

"Experts have warned of a crisis in youth jobs, with official figures due on Thursday expected to show the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) is close to breaking through a million. Britain has the third-highest rate of 16-24-year-olds who are neither earning or learning among wealthy European countries. The figures come with Labour under pressure from business leaders who argue that the 25bn increase in employers' national insurance contributions by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and an attempt to equalise minimum wages between young and older workers have contributed to soaring rates of youth joblessness."

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