Milburn report demands system reset as UK youth unemployment nears one million
Interim review criticises Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s disjointed approach to youth jobs, urging overhaul of welfare and health services as official data looms.
A government-commissioned interim report led by Alan Milburn has described the UK’s soaring youth unemployment as a catastrophic systems failure, urging the Labour government to implement an immediate system reset. The review, commissioned to investigate the causes of record inactivity among 16-to-24-year-olds, criticises Prime Minister Keir Starmer for lacking a cohesive strategy and relying on disjointed jobs programmes that are reportedly going in the wrong direction.
Official figures expected to be published on Thursday are anticipated to reveal that nearly one million young people are not in education, employment, or training. This statistic places Britain among the highest in wealthy European nations for this demographic, with 16-to-24-year-olds neither earning nor learning ranking third in the region. The data adds significant pressure to the government as it faces scrutiny over its economic management and social support frameworks.
Milburn, the former Labour health secretary leading the review, argued that current efforts to support young people, including the youth guarantee, are welcome but insufficient without alignment. He questioned who is joining the dots to create a participation-first service where every young person is given the opportunity to earn or learn. The report asserts that mission-based government is required to overhaul schools, skills systems, health services, and welfare support to boost youth job prospects.
Business leaders have cited recent fiscal measures as contributing factors to the rise in youth joblessness. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to increase employers’ national insurance contributions by £25bn, alongside attempts to equalise minimum wages between young and older workers, has been pointed to by industry voices as detrimental to hiring younger staff. These concerns coincide with the release of Milburn’s findings, which call for a fundamental shift in how the state approaches youth employment.
The report also urges ministers not to shy away from necessary welfare changes, criticising previous Labour attempts that prioritised cost savings over outcomes for people with health conditions and disabilities. Milburn stated that welfare reform is needed for moral reasons as much as fiscal ones, arguing that a diagnosis should not limit aspirations for work. Concurrently, Welfare Minister Stephen Timms has been commissioned to lead a separate review of disability benefits, signalling a broader governmental effort to address the structural issues identified in the interim report.