Burnham Warns 1 Million UK Youths Risk Economic Catastrophe as Ministers Ready 62,400 Job Placements
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Oct 19
Burnham Warns 1 Million UK Youths Risk Economic Catastrophe as Ministers Ready 62,400 Job Placements
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Oct 19
Summary
Nearly 1 million Britons aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training, prompting Prime Minister Andy Burnham to call the situation an economic catastrophe and moral failure.
This week’s response is set to include 22,400 annual apprenticeships and 40,000 construction placements as Burnham argues welfare should start with young people’s ambitions rather than benefit entitlement.
331,000 people aged 18 to 24 now claim unemployment-related benefits—almost double 2016 levels—while Alan Milburn says the state spends 25 times more supporting young people out of work than helping them into jobs.
Any shift of money from benefits to employment support faces political resistance inside Labour after an earlier rebellion killed £5 billion of welfare cuts, with broader legislation now expected in the New Year.