Alan Milburn is leading a review into the role of mental health in youth unemployment
The Government has launched a major review into youth unemployment, directing Labor Health Secretary Alan Milburn to investigate the growing role of mental health and disability in young people in the context of youth unemployment.
About 16 to 24 million people in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training (Neets) – a prominent picture of ministers and policies. Milburn’s review will examine how to prevent young people from getting stuck out of work or education, with findings expected to be published next summer.
The announcement comes just days after the Mayfield Review, led by former chairman John Lewis Sir Its report found that the number of 16- to 34-year-olds who are long-term ill and out of work due to mental health conditions has increased by 190,000 since 2019, a jump of 75 per cent.
Launching the review, Pat Mcfadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said the UK faced an ‘opportunity crisis’ among its younger generation.
“We cannot afford to lose a generation of young people and live on benefits, without work prospects and not enough prospects,” he said. “This calls for more action to give them a chance to learn or earn.”
The government is expected to unveil a “youth guarantee” in this month’s budget – a policy that would have promised to work for young people who have been in debt for 18 months or more without getting a job or education.
The Department for Work and Pensions said Milburn’s review would make “useful recommendations” to help young people with health conditions access training, education or jobs, supported by prosperity, not baced. “
The move comes amid a series of government efforts to tackle long-term ill health and economic inactivity. It follows the timms review, which is currently testing personal independence payments (PIP) – a benefit that covers the additional costs of physical and mental disability.
Millburn, who served as health secretary from 1999 to 2003 under Tony Blair and now works as a non-executive director at the Department of Health, will reveal the failure “across the social crisis.
“I will produce far-reaching recommendations for change to improve opportunities for young people to learn and discover,” she said.
Attacks on young people unable to work due to mental health problems have become one of the most pressing challenges for the government. Economists warn that rising inefficiencies increase productivity and weigh on growth.
While successive governments have published reports on the problem, few have been able to reverse the trend. Critics say that substandard mental health services, combined with the pressures of insecure work and the high cost of living, are creating a generation that is often counted out of the labor market.
Milburn’s acquisition is expected to feed directly into Rachel Reves’ next budget, which will include new spending aimed at reducing unemployment and boosting youth employment.
The hope in Whitehall is that this review – bringing together insights from the health and work sectors – will eventually produce an integrated plan to bring Britain’s lost workforce back into the economy.
