# Burnham calls youth joblessness a moral failure

> Prime minister pledges to invest in young people's employment rather than welfare, as government launches sector-by-sector jobs plans.
- Title: Burnham calls youth joblessness a moral failure | Shortify
- Summary: Prime minister pledges to invest in young people's employment rather than welfare, as government launches sector-by-sector jobs plans. Prime minister Andy…
- Keywords: andy burnham, youth unemployment, neet, welfare, apprenticeships, alan milburn, employment support, uk government, politics, news, Burnham, calls
- Source: The Independent — https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/andy-burnham-neets-welfare-benefits-alan-milburn-b3068943.html
- Published: 2026-10-19T07:09:17+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: andy burnham, youth unemployment, neet, welfare, apprenticeships, alan milburn, employment support, uk government, politics, news
## Almost a million young people out of work
Almost one million young people are currently classed as Neet, not in employment, education or training, according to the Office for National Statistics.
## Burnham calls it economic catastrophe
Prime minister Andy Burnham described the number of young people not in employment, education or training as an economic catastrophe and a moral failure.

> economic catastrophe and a moral failure
## Invest in success, not welfare
Burnham wrote in The Times that the UK must invest in young people's success rather than pay for failure through the benefits system.

> We either invest in the success of our young people or pay for failure through the benefits system.
## Welfare system offers no ongoing support
Burnham said the current welfare system provides assessment and payment but then offers no support, skills training or job opportunities to young people.

> the welfare system provides an assessment, a payment and, after that, a goodbye.
## Twenty-two thousand apprenticeships offered
The government is publishing jobs plans for key sectors starting with professional services and construction, making twenty-two thousand four hundred apprenticeships yearly available for under twenty-fives.
## Milburn to recommend cutting benefits
Former cabinet minister Alan Milburn is expected to publish a report on the Neet issue after the Budget at the end of October, likely recommending cutting benefit spending to fund employment support.

> We need to redistribute money from the welfare system to more employment support if we are going to end the Neet crisis.
## Key takeaway

Prime minister Andy Burnham called youth unemployment a moral failure and committed to investing in young people's success rather than paying for welfare, as the government begins publishing jobs plans across key sectors.