In one of his first interventions on the thorny issues facing Britain, the new PM Andy Burnham has made clear it is his mission to reduce the number of young people not in work, education or employment
Andy Burnham has insisted today he is on a “mission” to halt the rise of young people not in work, education, or employment.
In one of his first interventions on the thorny issues facing Britain, the new PM has made clear reducing the number of ‘Neets’ is a priority.
He made the commitment as he unveiled plans to open up new technical education routes to 14-year-olds – attempting to put it on equal footing with traditional academic pathways.
Mr Burnham said: “I will commit, in my time in office, to get the number of young people who are not in education, employment, and training down. I will commit to that. When precisely I can get there will is a hard thing to say right now.” Here The Mirror looks at the scale of the problem – and the PM’s new plan.
What is the ‘Neets’ crisis?
‘Neets’ is the acronym in Whitehall used to describe young people between 16 and 24 not in education, employment or training. According to the most recent figures – covering January to March – there were a staggering 1.01million young people who fell into this category.
This represents over 13.5% of the entire age group and was up 6% from 957,000 in the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Is this a new crisis?
No. It is not the first time Britain has seen rising levels of ‘Neets’. After the financial crash in 2007 the number of young people not in education, employment or training sharply increased.
ONS data, which began in 2001, showed the number of ‘Neets’ peaked at 1.25million (16.9%) in July-September 2011. The figures eventually declined – but have been steadily on the rise in the post-pandemic years.
What has the government done?
Keir Starmer’s government commissioned former Labour Cabinet minister and ex-Health Secretary Alan Milburn to examine the “national emergency” in 2025.
His 216-page report landed on ministers’ desks with a thud in May with sobering conclusions.
He said without action the government risked a long-term £125billion hit to the economy – more than the entire annual education budget in England.
And he warned of a “lost generation” if the numbers continue to climb.
What did Alan Milburn say was driving the rise?
In his report, Mr Milburn warned of “death of the Saturday job”, the shrinking labour market, the use of smartphones, and the pandemic, among a myriad of issues.
But he was clear that the evidence “does not support a single explanation” for the rise in the number of Neets in recent years.
He also made it known that young people themselves were not to blame with research showing 84% of ‘Neets’ wanting a job or training. Instead, Mr Milburn added: “Institutions that should have provided opportunities to them are the ones that have failed.”
What has Andy Burnham announced?
The new Prime Minister has made clear he views the Neets crisis as a national priority.
It is significant he has made the issue – often ignored at Westminster – one his first interventions, declaring it a “mission” to bring the numbers down.
In a first step on Tuesday, he promised a fundamental overhaul of the education system with a commitment to new technical education routes to be made available to 14-year-olds.
From 2028, pupils will be able to combine core academic subjects, like English and Maths, with technical education linked to jobs available in their area, No10 said.
The idea is to put technical routes on an equal footing with traditional academic routes.
It builds on his work as Mayor where he launched the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) to boost technical education and offer students significant work experience payments.
Will it help solve the Neets crisis?
The intention of the new scheme is clear: to stop the Neets crisis worsening.
But it is not the first attempt by a recent government to reach for the lever of vocational education, the IFS researcher Imran Tahir explained.
He added: “Constant reform has been the order of the day in recent decades.”
“Today’s announcement differs by looking much earlier in life, at age 14. That brings its own challenges, not least the risk of asking young people to specialise too soon, though there are other countries which specialise even earlier. Getting employers to engage with designing – and perhaps helping to deliver – training programmes will be vital to their success”
Unlike previous schemes, Mr Burnham is also convinced it will have a greater impact because it is being devised alongside regional mayors and leaders who know their areas best and can link up schools with the needs of the local job market. This may be easier in some parts of the country but more of a challenge in small villages or rural areas.
By offering 14-year-olds greater opportunities and technical routes, ministers will be hoping they can avoid a new generation of Neets in future years.
But it will do little to tackle the current generation of young people classed as Neets.
Apprenticeship boost for Universal Credit households
The new government has also announced some households on Universal Credit are set to have access to more money to help teenagers take on an apprenticeship.
Ministers believe that by rolling out a new bursary, fewer young people will be discouraged from applying for apprenticeships, for fear their family might lose out on benefits.
The bursary will be worth up to £4,500 per year per household, according to the Government.
The Social Security Advisory Committee has previously warned of an “apprenticeship cliff-edge”, because the benefits system “unintentionally penalises families when their children pursue apprenticeships”.
What happens next?
The new PM was clear himself that the announcements today were just a first step.
It is abundantly clear other thorny issues – including the state of mental health care for young people and waiting times for treatment – will have to be grasped by the new government.
But ministers are eagerly awaiting Mr Milburn’s second report in the autumn.
In May, the former Labour Cabinet minister was clear he was not offering solutions. It is in his upcoming report he has promised to set out the more fundamental reform across government and society to bring down the number of Neets. And some of the conclusions are likely to come at a cost.
This will be the real test of whether Burnham’s new team in Downing Street is serious about his “mission” to tackle the issue and help young people.