Milburn warns of ‘shameful’ failings trapping young people on benefits

The leader of a major Government review has warned that the state is “disgracefully” failing young people by “picking them into the world of benefits”.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn said his review found the government was spending 25 times more on welfare than on measures to get young people into work.

He said a program of welfare reform was needed and urged Labor MPs who opposed Sir Keir Starmer’s previous attempt to change the system to remember that they were a “party of labour”.

Mr Milburn also highlighted the impact of social media on young people’s lives, fueling anxiety and “rewiring” their brains.

“The shameful thing is that, as we have revealed during this review, for every £25 we spend on getting young people on benefits, we spend just £1 on helping them get into work through employment support,” he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday.

Mr Milburn said: “This is a failure of the welfare system, but I am sorry – it is a failure of the school system, the skills system and the health system.

“What we do is we don’t prioritize putting young people in a situation where they can learn or win.

“And instead we move them into a world of benefits at incalculable costs to their life chances.”

Asked what his message was to Labor on the need for welfare reform, he said: “Labor is the party of work, whatever it says on the tin.

“Work gives purpose, work gives income, work gives meaning; it means you can contribute, but if you can’t, it affects not only your mental health but also your life chances.

“Secondly, welfare reform is absolutely necessary and needs to be done, but as I said it needs to be in the context of a broader set of reforms to state institutions.”

He told The Times that young people who are not in employment, education or training (Neet) are “not snowflakes”.

Instead, they are part of the “bedroom generation.”

“They kind of live in their bedrooms; always working, never turning off.”

The former health minister warned that young people’s sleep patterns and concentration levels are being affected by social media, “and this is affecting their ability to work”.

“These are not snowflakes. They say it is a soft generation. In my opinion, it is definitely not like that. It is an anxious generation.”

Mr Milburn’s report will warn that they are “growing up in a digital world that is reshaping the way they communicate, relate and manage stress”, according to The Times.

“They have less workplace experience and present with higher levels of anxiety and depression.”

Mr Milburn’s interim report on young Neets is expected to be published next week.

The group of ten 12- and 13-year-olds who took part in the study each said they went to bed between midnight and 3 a.m. because they were scrolling on their phones, The Times reported.

The report is also expected to warn that the welfare state and the world of work are being built for a different generation.

Mr Milburn said British businesses also needed to adapt to providing “high levels of pastoral care for this group of young people experiencing mental distress”.

He added: “Employers have an easy time because they have been able to import bakery-ready migrant workers.

“He fell off the cliff.”

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), an estimated 12.8% of all people aged 16 to 24 in the UK from October to December 2025 were Neet.

The total number of youths considered as Neet was 957,000.