Britain is condemning a generation of young people with common mental health conditions to a lifetime on welfare, the Government’s work tsar has warned.
Alan Milburn, the former Labour cabinet minister leading a review of youth unemployment, said the country faces a “lost generation” of nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds currently not in work, education, or training.
“Anxiety is normal. Depression is normal,” Mr Milburn told The Times. “There’s a difference between a diagnosis and a disorder. And OK, so people might have anxiety or depression, but it doesn’t mean that therefore you should be written off for not being able to work.”
The stark intervention comes as roughly one in eight young Britons fall into the Neet category, with Mr Milburn’s review expected to be published in the summer.
The former minister criticised successive governments for prioritising pensioners while overlooking young people.
He pointed to the triple lock on state pensions, which is set to add £15.5billion a year to public spending by 2030, as a prime example of this generational imbalance.
“We’ve decided which generation to back. We back the older generation with a triple lock, but there’s no such guarantee for young people,” Mr Milburn said.
He warned that the crisis goes far beyond money, affecting opportunities and the future prospects of young Britons.
Nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds are currently not in work, education, or training
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“I think a lot of the debate around this has been framed in the wrong way as a fiscal problem. It is a fiscal problem, but it’s a moral problem, it’s a social problem, it’s an economic problem. I think you’ve got a moral crisis,” he told The Times.
With Britain set to have far more retirees than workers, Mr Milburn argued that investing in young people is an investment in the nation’s future.
He warned of a “downward escalator” trapping young Britons from childhood onwards.
The cycle starts in schools, where one in five pupils now receive a special educational needs diagnosis.
BRITAIN’S YOUTH CRISIS – READ THE LATEST:
One in five pupils now receive a special educational needs diagnosis
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“The vast majority of those then trip into the benefits system because they get child disability allowance,” he explained.
Nearly a third of Neets are out of work due to illness or disability, with mental health conditions and autism the most common reasons.
There is particular concern surrounding the 66,000 16 to 18-year-olds who have effectively disappeared from the system.
“They should be in full-time education, it’s a legal requirement,” Mr Milburn said. “So there’s a whole cohort who are sort of invisible.”
He proposed simplifying post-school options, calling for a single vocational training pathway similar to the Ucas system for university applications.
Mr Milburn called for a single vocational training pathway similar to the Ucas system
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He criticised the current apprenticeship system as misdirected, pointing out that many placements go to people over 40.
“Ask any member of the public what they think an apprenticeship is. It’s an entry opportunity for young people, not in-work training for older people,” Mr Milburn said.
The work tsar also reflected on last year’s welfare reform collapse following a Labour backbench rebellion, suggesting the approach was doomed from the start.
“If you frame welfare reform as cutting costs and taking things away rather than providing opportunities, you get the inevitable result,” he noted.
Currently, government spending on health and disability benefits for 16 to 24-year-olds outweighs investment in apprenticeships.