Former health secretary Alan Milburn has warned that reversing the national minimum wage increase for young workers is not an 'easy solution' to Britain's growing Neet crisis. His report, published on Thursday, blames a 'whole system failure' across health, education, and welfare for the record number of young people not in employment, education, or training (Neet).
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced criticism from businesses and commentators for raising the minimum wage for 18-20 year olds to £10.85 an hour, with plans to eventually equalise it for all ages. Critics argue this discourages employers from hiring inexperienced young people. However, Milburn insisted the policy change is 'not the root cause of the problem,' noting that many employers already pay the adult rate.
Milburn called for a cross-party, whole-system approach, stating that 'layering new programmes on top of a broken system won't work.' His review found the Neet crisis costs the UK £125 billion annually, with over one million young people now Neet for the first time since 2013. Without action, he warned the figure could rise to 1.25 million by 2031.
Milburn also acknowledged that Reeves' changes to national insurance and minimum wage have had an impact on sectors like retail and hospitality, but urged against seeking 'easy solutions.' He said, 'If we keep just going on about what Rachel did or didn't do, everything would be bloody lovely? Really? Come on.'
