By Sohaib Shams
The UK government should identify and track young people at risk of economic inactivity to prevent them from slipping out of the workforce, a review led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn will recommend this month. Milburn will call for locally led youth services in every community in England to stop teenagers from falling through the cracks.
Surge in Young People Not in Education or Work
Just under a million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK, or 13 per cent, are now classified as NEET — not in education, employment or training — up from a low of 673,000 in 2021. Milburn's interim report found that 45 per cent of today's 24-year-old NEETs have never held a job, even though 84 per cent say they actively want to learn or work.
Dutch Model Inspires Proactive Outreach
Drawing on policies in the Netherlands, where the NEET rate is just 4.1 per cent, the review will urge local authorities to adopt a proactive outreach model. Milburn said Dutch youth workers "literally knock on doors" to ensure young people get help to earn or learn, adding that UK youth services have been allowed to wither.
Decade of Cuts to Youth Services
Council spending on youth services in England fell by 73 per cent between 2010/11 and 2023/24, according to YMCA figures, while the number of full-time youth workers dropped by 34 per cent over the same period. The review will back the government's National Youth Strategy and plans for up to 50 Young Futures Hubs, but warns they must be part of a wider local youth system, not standalone programmes.
Focus on Disabled and Ill Young People
Of the 981,000 NEETs in Britain, nearly half are ill or disabled. The review is expected to recommend Danish-style "flexi-jobs" — subsidised work for disabled young people — and support for employers to provide workplace adjustments. Milburn has argued that the welfare system "isn't working for young people" and that some funding should be redirected into employment support.
Welfare Reform and Political Pressures
The government will consider reforms to the welfare system after the Milburn review and a separate review of Personal Independence Payment by disability minister Stephen Timms, also due this month. Chancellor John Healey has insisted reforms will not take the form of "crude cuts" but wants to be "tough" on young people who refuse work offers. Over 100 Labour MPs threatened to rebel against Sir Keir Starmer's government last year over planned welfare cuts, a showdown Healey and new prime minister Andy Burnham will be keen to avoid.
