Young people deserve legal guarantee of job or training says Alan Milburn but will lose benefits if they say no - as Labour die-hards prepare to rebel

Résumé détaillé

The former Labour health secretary's (left) review into youth unemployment is set to be published next week.

Published: 11:46 GMT, 14 November 2026 | Updated: 11:46 GMT, 14 November 2026

Young people deserve a legal 'guarantee' of a job, training or employment support, Alan Milburn has said, but face losing benefits if they decline.

The former Labour health secretary's review into youth unemployment is set to be published next week.

The report will recommend how to curb the number of so-called Neets – 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training – which topped a million earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.

Ahead of its release on Tuesday, Mr Milburn told the BBC there should be a legal duty on the Government to ensure young people have access to a route into employment.

In the interview, due to be broadcast on Sunday, Mr Milburn described the proposal as an 'opportunity guarantee'.

He said: 'It should be a guarantee for a young person. Because at the moment the only guarantee they've got is a very simple thing. To get a benefit. What sort of life is that?'

According to Mr Milburn, the proposal might work similarly to the way that local councils have a legal responsibility to offer accommodation or advice to the homeless, or accommodate children in care.

He said previous employment schemes have been temporary, and do not go far enough to tackle the problem of young people not in education, employment or training.

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