A comprehensive strategy to reduce youth unemployment and the associated benefits expenditure will not generate significant cost savings until the end of the decade, according to its designer, Alan Milburn. The former Blair-era minister has been tasked by the government with developing recommendations to decrease the number of individuals aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs).
Official figures from April to June 2026 indicated that 981,000 people were classified as NEETs. While this represents a slight decrease from over one million in the previous quarter, the number remains 30,000 higher than in 2025. Milburn stated in an interview with the Financial Times that the plan is intended as a "10-year plan for youth participation." He emphasized that providing increased support for young people will inherently require initial investment.
Milburn, who has observed youth unemployment rates in the Netherlands, where the NEET rate is significantly lower than in the UK, indicated that achieving comparable results would take longer than two or three years. He also proposed that regional mayors could be empowered to retain and reinvest welfare savings generated by successfully helping individuals back into employment, a concept he believes would be driven by financial incentives.
Recent analysis suggests the NEETs problem might be more extensive than previously understood. Data obtained by Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza from 262 of England's 290 college groups revealed that approximately 41,995 young people aged 16 and 17 may be disengaged from education without appearing in official NEET figures. This is due to tens of thousands of students enrolled in college courses attending less than half of their scheduled sessions, a status not formally tracked by the Department for Education in further education settings.
"The fact that colleges have no obligation to report attendance means tens of thousands of young people can disengage entirely without clear accountability," Milburn commented on these findings, highlighting a gap in the current system.