Milburn report warns of ‘moral crisis’ for UK youth

The Story

Alan Milburn’s report on young people in the UK states there are more than 1 million not in work, education or training, with a predicted rise to 1.25 million without significant change. The report describes this as a “moral crisis” and calls for a “system reset” rather than “tinkering.” The Guardian opinion piece by Polly Toynbee presents these findings as the sole source.

Key Facts

• Milburn’s report says there are more than 1 million young people not in work, education or training (Neets) and expects that number to reach 1.25 million without significant change.
• 84% of surveyed young people wanted to work or do an apprenticeship, and 19% wanted to enter education or training.
• 15% of young people have degrees; 30% have five good GCSEs or equivalent.
• 1.6 million first-rung jobs have vanished in the past 20 years, and apprenticeship starts fell by 35% in the past decade.
• 60% of Neets have never had a job before.
• Only 64% of young people report being happy at school; the rest find it “traumatic” or “boring.”
• Milburn said the raised employers’ national insurance, minimum wage increase, and extra working rights are not the cause of the crisis, calling that “bullshit.”
• The report states that for the first time ever, younger generations are worse off than their parents were at their age, describing it as a “broken social contract.”
• Milburn previously resigned from the Social Mobility Commission, saying the Tory government lacked the “necessary energy and focus” to tackle inequality.
• Treasury minister Torsten Bell said on BBC Radio 4 that the working-age benefits bill is not “out of control” but flat as a proportion of GDP.

Conflicting Reports

No conflicting reports identified in the source article.

Still Unclear

• Why further education colleges have a cap on numbers but universities do not.
• Why mental health treatment is counted but outcomes such as helping people back into work are not.
• Whether the Treasury will provide upfront funding for early prevention, which Milburn says would save money later.
• The specific remedies in the second part of Milburn’s report, which is yet to be published.

Misconceptions

The article addresses the misconception that life on benefits is easy, stating it is “despair.” Milburn also denies that recent labor policies (employer national insurance, minimum wage, working rights) caused the youth employment crisis.

Key Figures

• Alan Milburn – author of the report
• Torsten Bell – Treasury minister

Sources: The Guardian