The Milburn Review of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits is poised to urge the Labour government to significantly expand supported internship programmes for young people with special needs, aiming to alleviate the UK’s ongoing youth employment crisis.
Alan Milburn’s report highlights the urgent need to scale up onsite support schemes for individuals with learning disabilities, autism, or mental illness, who face alarmingly high levels of joblessness. Supported internships, which provide tailored work experience, have demonstrated considerable success; some schemes see around 70% of participants securing paid employment after completion.
Previously, Milburn drew attention to the nearly one million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK categorised as NEET (not in employment, education, or training). He emphasised the importance of moving beyond outdated perceptions that a diagnosis equates to an inability to work. “People can work,” he stated, “The question is: are the opportunities and support available?” He stressed that the current system is insufficiently equipped to provide the necessary support and must therefore be “turbocharged.”
Addressing misconceptions, Milburn rejected the notion of 18- to 24-year-olds as a “snowflake generation,” arguing that the real issue lies in a lack of jobs, opportunities, and support, rather than a lack of effort among young people.
He also acknowledged the rise in youth mental ill health as a genuine and pressing concern. “There are two views about this trend: dismissing it as fake or recognising its reality. We must acknowledge it’s real and adapt our systems accordingly,” he said.
Milburn pointed out that early warnings of future unemployment risk often arise from a very young age, sometimes as early as preschool. He called for primary schools to identify children at risk of becoming NEET and for secondary schools and related services to intervene and provide support to steer these young people toward positive trajectories.
Highlighting the long-term nature of this issue, Milburn noted, “If a young person today qualifies for health and disability benefits, there is a 50% chance they will still be eligible and out of work fifteen years later. This is neither a satisfactory nor progressive outcome,” underscoring the critical need for systemic reform to improve employment prospects for vulnerable young people.