# Cut benefits to fund youth work support, says Milburn

> Alan Milburn, author of a government review on youth unemployment, says welfare spending must be redirected to employment support to end the Neet crisis.
- Title: Cut benefits to fund youth work support, says Milburn
- Summary: Alan Milburn, author of a government review on youth unemployment, says welfare spending must be redirected to employment support to end the Neet crisis…
- Keywords: alan milburn, neet crisis, youth unemployment, welfare reform, employment support, labour government, john healey, mental health, news, world, Cut, benefits
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/18/cut-benefits-fund-employment-support-young-people-neet-review-author-alan-milburn
- Published: 2026-10-18T18:30:19+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: alan milburn, neet crisis, youth unemployment, welfare reform, employment support, labour government, john healey, mental health, news, world
## Milburn calls for welfare cuts
Alan Milburn, former health secretary and author of a government review on youth unemployment, told the Guardian that ministers should cut welfare spending to fund more employment support.
## The welfare system isn't working
Milburn said the welfare system just isn't working for young people and that money must be redistributed from welfare to employment support if the Neet crisis is to end.

> We've got to have a different conversation about the welfare system, it just isn't working for young people.
## One million young people are Neet
Milburn's review calculated that a record one million young people are now classed as Neet, not in education, employment or training. Sixty percent of these have never had a job.
## A youth detachment problem
Milburn said this was far more than cyclical youth unemployment. It was a youth detachment problem, with most young people classed as Neet having never worked before.
## The Neet crisis is a health crisis
In a joint interview with Peter Fonagy, chair of the government's independent review of mental health, ADHD and autism, Milburn said the Neet crisis is a health crisis.

> The Neet crisis is a health crisis. We're in this vicious cycle where ill health is driving higher Neet rates.
## Systems must work together
Milburn said his recommendations would likely call for employment, health and benefits support to become more integrated, changing how wealth, health and welfare systems interact.
## Fonagy warns of rising mental distress
Fonagy's review found that the number of people suffering mental distress has risen significantly across all age groups in England since the nineteen nineties, especially under eighteens.
## Focus on potential, not disability
Fonagy said the current system identifies disability and why people cannot do something. A new system should address their potential and what they can do instead.

> We need a system that actually addresses their potential and what it is that they can do.
## Investment needed upfront
The transformation Milburn and Fonagy describe would cost hundreds of millions of pounds. Both said upfront money would be crucial, though they would not comment on exact funding levels required.
## Young people want jobs, not benefits
Milburn said this is not a workshy generation making mental distress up. If the government provides opportunities and support, the overwhelming majority of young people will take them because they want jobs.

> The system isn't delivering what young people want, which is a job.
## Key takeaway

Alan Milburn says the government should cut welfare benefits to fund more employment support for young people not in education, employment or training.