Andy Burnham is committed to welfare reform, according to Alan Milburn, the Government's youth unemployment adviser. Milburn stated that Burnham understands it is "absolutely necessary" to change the system to assist the million young people currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
Milburn made these remarks on Monday, suggesting the government "got it wrong" in its attempts to reduce the welfare bill. He proposed that the most effective way to address the "huge welfare problem" is to "ensure that young people get the opportunity and support... so they can be at work, pay their taxes, and become less dependent on benefits."
Milburn, who published a report on the NEET crisis in May, observed a "generational fault line" due to the significant number of young people who have never held a job. He also noted that unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds is at an 11-year high of 16.2 percent, with rising industry costs impacting entry-level positions. "Hospitality vacancies [have fallen] by a half in four or five years," Milburn said, adding, "And that's before the full impact of artificial intelligence."
These comments follow Burnham's recent assertion that he would not implement "crude cuts to benefit levels" which could lead to claimants facing "even worse poverty" and prompt a "backlash."