Burnham says youth employment and training crisis is a 'moral failure'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declared the UK is facing both an economic catastrophe and a moral failure, due to nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training. In an opinion column for the Times newspaper, Burnham argued the government must invest in the success of young people instead of paying for failure through the benefits system.

Burnham cited multiple factors contributing to the Neets crisis, including two years of Covid lockdowns, social media eroding confidence and a sense of belonging, an education system focused on university routes, insufficient job opportunities, and previous governments' failures. He criticized the welfare system, which currently provides an assessment, payment, and then goodbye, without offering skills or job opportunities.

Burnham proposed a shift in welfare approach, beginning with young people's ambitions and helping them achieve them. The safety net would still exist for those unable to work, but the government would do everything in its power to help those who can work. The prime minister announced plans for tens of thousands of new youth apprenticeships and placements in construction, accounting, consulting, and legal firms.

Labour Party's Julia Lopez criticized Burnham's youth employment strategy as a disaster, pointing to tax hikes and red tape as factors making it harder for businesses to hire and invest. However, Burnham's long-awaited full review of young people and work, authored by former health secretary Alan Milburn, recommends redistributing money from the welfare system to more employment support.

Milburn argued that if the government provided more opportunities and support, the vast majority of young people would take them, as they want a job. The current system is failing to deliver jobs, according to Milburn, who calculated the government spends 25 times more on benefits for young people than getting them into work. Chancellor John Healey, preparing to announce his first budget on 28 October, emphasized the moral duty to address welfare spending.