Alan Milburn’s 232-page review warns that nearly one million 16–24-year-olds in Britain are NEETs and that, without urgent reform, the share could rise to one in six within five years. The report links the rise to structural factors: the loss of entry-level jobs, higher employment costs, declines in apprenticeships and rising health-related exclusions—especially mental health. It criticises education and welfare systems for failing young people and signals possible radical reforms, including a separate benefits route for those who have never worked.
The NEETs Crisis: Milburn Warns Of A 'Lost Generation' As Youth Opportunities Shrink
The Prime Minister, pictured meeting apprentices after the report was delivered. | Credit: Simon Jones / WPA Pool / Getty Images
A major 232-page review by former Labour minister Alan Milburn warns that nearly one million 16–24-year-olds in Britain—about one in eight—are now classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training). The report calls the trend a "catastrophic failure" and warns the share could rise to one in six within five years unless urgent action is taken.
Key Findings
Milburn’s review attributes the rise in NEETs to deep structural changes in the labour market and welfare system. Notable findings include a loss of roughly 1.6 million "first-rung" jobs over the past 20 years, a fall of more than 40% in apprenticeship starts since 2016, and a 70% increase over a decade in young people classified as NEET for health reasons—nearly half of whom cite mental health conditions.
Who Is Affected?
Today six in ten NEETs have never held a job, compared with four in ten in 2005; about 15% hold degrees. The UK has roughly three times as many NEETs per capita as the Netherlands and more than any EU country except Romania. Data cited in the review suggest that nearly half of young people who are NEET and on benefits will still be out of work 15 years later, making this both an economic and a moral challenge.
Drivers And Barriers
Milburn identifies several drivers behind the trend: rising employment costs (including a higher national minimum wage), the disappearance of entry-level and Saturday jobs, impersonal hiring practices (such as automated CV screening), higher rates of truancy after the pandemic, and a welfare system he argues spends disproportionately on benefits rather than on support to help young people into work—an asserted ratio of about £25 in benefits for every £1 invested in getting young people into employment.
"A catastrophic failure," the report quotes Milburn as saying, underlining the urgency of systemic reform.
Responses And Debate
The review has generated wide commentary across the political and media spectrum. Supporters say it reframes welfare reform as a moral and practical necessity; critics warn that political resistance and the fiscal cost of major reform will make implementation difficult. Milburn is expected to publish concrete recommendations in the autumn.
Next Steps
Among the ideas under consideration is a separate benefits route targeted at young people who have never worked, with an emphasis on moving them into jobs. Milburn and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden plan a fact-finding trip to the Netherlands to study systems that appear more successful at keeping young people in education or employment despite similar levels of mental ill health.
Why It Matters: Without decisive policy change, a rising cohort of long-term NEETs risks scarring individuals’ futures and increasing long-term fiscal and social costs. Milburn’s review seeks to map the problem and prompt an urgent, evidence-based response.
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