Burnham gives no ‘blanket assurance’ on accepting Neets recommendations in full
The Prime Minister said the detail of Alan Milburn’s youth unemployment review would come out next week.
Andy Burnham has described Alan Milburn’s forthcoming report on youth unemployment as a “watershed moment,” but stopped short of committing to implementing its recommendations in full.
The Prime Minister also insisted paying for the reforms would not mean “more money” but “spending differently” in Government when pressed on the large upfront investment they are expected to require.
Former Labour health secretary Mr Milburn’s review next week will recommend how to curb the number of so-called Neets – 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training – which topped a million earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.
He is expected to call for under-25s to no longer be able to claim the health element of universal credit (UC) or personal independence payments (Pip), moving them instead to a “youth allowance”, paid at the same level as the standard rate of universal credit.
Some Labour MPs – who last year pressured Sir Keir Starmer’s government to water down proposed welfare cuts – have voiced concerns over the extent of future support.
Asked whether he would accept the politically sensitive report in full, Mr Burnham declined to provide that “blanket assurance”.
He told reporters in Dublin: “We will have to wait until the report is published. It’s a wide-ranging report, and obviously we’ll set out our response next week.
“But I think it’s really important to see the report as quite a watershed moment I think in terms of how we think about supporting young people and supporting young people into work.
“It’s starting to point to a very different way of thinking about welfare and support, and moving more towards guaranteeing support for young people to move forward and get into work, rather than leaving them in a situation where they don’t get the support when they need it and then end up on benefits in their 20s. Nobody wants that.
“So there are big implications, but I think we’ll have to wait for the report.
“There’s lots of detailed recommendations, so I can’t give you that blanket assurance here tonight.”
Mr Milburn will also recommend investing billions in giving young people more career support to help them find work.
The Government’s independent reviewer told The Times the proposals would require a “significant” investment upfront and that it could take 10 years before savings are realised.
Mr Burnham said the Government would make better use of existing resources rather than spend more.
The Labour leader told journalists: “We’re having a conversation within Government about reprioritising spending.
“So it’s not more money; it’s just thinking differently about how and when we intervene and how we support young people.”
He pointed to fixing young people’s struggles to access mental health support and the need for an education system that put technical and academic paths on an equal footing.
“So again, reprioritising within what we’ve already got,” Mr Burnham continued.
“So that is the discussion that is going on.
“It’s not about spending more. It’s about much better use of what we’ve got to give young people the support when they need it.”