Former health secretary Alan Milburn claimed his review found the state was spending 25 times more on welfare for young people than on measures to get them into jobs
The state has failed young people in a “shameful” way by “transporting them into the world of benefits”, the leader of a major Government review has warned.
Former health secretary Alan Milburn claimed his review found the state was spending 25 times more on welfare for young people than on measures to get them into jobs.
Mr Milburn also hit out at the impact of social media on young people’s lives which had fuelled anxiety and “rewired” their brains.
Appearing on BBC ’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said: “This is a failure of the welfare system, but it’s a failure – I’m sorry – of the school system, the skills system, the health system.
“What we’re doing is we’re not prioritising getting young people into a situation where they can be learning or earning. And instead we’re transporting them into the world of benefits with incalculable costs for their life chances.”
Asked what his message was to Labour about the need for welfare reform, he said: “Labour is what it says on the tin, it’s the party of work. Work gives purpose, work gives income, work gives meaning, it means you can contribute, but if you can’t do that, that has an impact, not least on your mental health, but also on your life chances.
“Second thing is, welfare reform is absolutely essential and needs to be done, but as I said it’s got to be within the context of a wider set of reforms to state institutions.”
Young people’s sleep patterns and concentration levels are being hurt by social media, the former health secretary warned, and “that is having an impact on their ability to work”.
Mr Milburn’s interim report into young Neets ( Not in Education Employment, or Training) is expected to be published next week. The total number of young people considered Neet is 957,000.