Milburn Proposes Under-25 Benefit Cuts and Legal Jobs Guarantee for 1 Million Neets
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Nov 14
Milburn Proposes Under-25 Benefit Cuts and Legal Jobs Guarantee for 1 Million Neets
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Nov 14
Summary
Alan Milburn will publish a review on Tuesday urging Britain to cut main sickness and disability benefits for under-25s while creating a legal “opportunity guarantee” of a job, apprenticeship, training place or health support.
Nearly 1 million under-25s are classed as Neets, a problem Milburn says costs £22 billion a year; he argues spending is skewed 25-to-1 toward benefits over employment support and should move closer to 2-to-1.
The plan would shift billions into further education, training, health help and likely subsidised jobs, but Milburn says it could take up to a decade to make a meaningful dent in the welfare bill.
Andy Burnham is widely expected to adopt most of the proposals, though Labour faces a fresh internal fight over whether cuts should hit existing claimants as well as future ones.
Opposition parties back faster welfare savings from different angles, while critics on the left call the approach cruel, setting up a broader test of whether Labour can sustain politically difficult welfare reform.