The key facts
- Nearly a million 16–24-year-olds in the UK are Neets, according to ONS
- Burnham: benefits should be a 'last resort, not a starting point'
- The government is preparing tens of thousands of apprenticeships and traineeships; the Conservatives criticise the strategy
The Prime Minister's warning
Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned that the UK is facing an 'economic catastrophe and moral failure' due to nearly a million young people aged 16–24 who are not studying, not working and not in training (the so-called Neets). In an op-ed for The Times published on Monday, he urged the government to 'invest in the success of our young people' rather than 'pay for failure through the benefits system'. 'Benefits will become the last resort, not the starting point,' he wrote. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there are nearly a million Neets. Burnham called this 'a generation being denied the chance to get on in life'.
Causes of the crisis and a change of approach
Among the causes, Burnham cited two years of Covid lockdowns, social media undermining 'confidence and a sense of belonging', an education system geared towards the 'university route', labour markets with 'too few opportunities', and the mistakes of previous governments. He announced a change of approach to welfare: the system 'will no longer start by determining which benefits a young person is entitled to', but will begin 'with their ambitions and the support needed to achieve them'. 'Today the welfare system assesses, pays out and then says goodbye,' the Prime Minister noted. He stressed that 'the safety net will remain for those who cannot work', but if a person could work with the right support, the government has a 'duty to do everything possible'.
Expected measures and criticism
Later this week the government is expected to announce plans to create tens of thousands of new youth apprenticeships and traineeships in the construction industry, as well as in accountancy, consultancy and law firms. Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Julia Lopez of the Conservatives said: 'Labour have become a disaster for youth jobs. Their tax rises and red tape have made it harder for businesses to hire, invest and grow, destroying opportunities for young people taking their first step on the career ladder'.
Milburn's review and the budget
Burnham confirmed that the long-awaited full review on youth and work will be published next month, and promised to take its recommendations 'seriously'. The review's author, former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, told The Guardian on Sunday that he favoured 'redirecting money from the benefits system into employment support'. 'This is not a generation of lazy 'snowflakes',' he said. 'If we provide more opportunities and support, the vast majority of young people will take them up, because that is what they want'. By his calculations, the government spends 25 times more on youth benefits than on employment support; he called the current level of Neets 'shameful'. Chancellor John Healey, who will present his first budget on 28 October, spoke in September at the Labour Party conference of the government's 'moral duty' to address welfare spending.
Image source, Getty Images
Britain needs to "invest in the success of our young people", Andy Burnham says
