Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK must increase support for young people before reducing total welfare spending, describing a policy shift in which spending would rise before benefit costs fell.
During a BBC interview, Burnham said public spending on youth assistance would have to grow before the state’s total benefits expenditure could decline. He said resources might need to be redirected and changes should be phased at a manageable pace.
On Times Radio, he left open the option of reducing some benefit payments. He urged a rethink of support across childhood, with the earliest years as the starting point. Burnham linked that approach to school readiness, saying a difficult start can leave children struggling to keep pace as they progress through school.
The first part of former minister Alan Milburn’s review, published in May, found about 1 million young people — roughly one in eight — were not working or in training. It pointed to mental health, labor-market conditions and inequality as structural factors associated with youth inactivity. EconoTimes previously covered Burnham’s response to the youth inactivity figures.
The proposal links an increase in youth support spending with a later reduction in the benefits bill, in Burnham’s account.
The Guardian reported that Milburn’s second report was due in November and was expected to propose restrictions on some benefits for people who refuse to engage. The Guardian also said Burnham compared the wider reassessment with policy changes involving the pension triple lock and adult social care.
