Alan Milburn’s action plan on youth labour market inactivity is set to be published in September and has the backing of the likely successor to the prime minister.
This is according to Milburn Review principal adviser Matt Upton (pictured), who was addressing delegates the launch of Zurich’s Value of Mental Health report.
The report found a third of working age adults were projected to be living with a mental health condition by 2030 and people with mental health conditions were 29 percentage points less likely to be working.
The initial report connected to the Milburn Review, published a month ago, found changes not seen for two centuries to the health of the country’s youth populations is impeding economic growth and contracting supply to the labour market.
Health service ‘too binary’
Upton explained the Milburn Review was trying to get to the bottom of why one million young people are not in employment, education or training.
He revealed that author Alan Milburn’s view was that the country’s current healthcare system was “too binary” in putting people on long waiting lists for mental health treatment and in doing so writing them off during crucial initial years of employment.
Upton added the country needs a much less binary system equipped for a different generation where employers take a much greater pastoral role in supporting young people into work, but added the burden on business employing those young people into the workplace needs to be eased.
Set for September
According to Upton, Milburn’s report outlining next steps is expected in September and is unlikely to be affected by a change in prime minister with the issue a high priority policy issue in the halls of Westminster.
Andy Burnham is the red hot favourite to be Sir Keir Starmer’s successor following the prime minister’s decision to step down last week.
“It’s always been a mid tier policy issue,” Upton told delegates.
“What’s happening in Westminster now is that this issue is catching up with dinner tables around the country where yes, people are talking about the cost of living, migration, the state of the NHS and so on.
“But the broader conversation, I know it’s at my dinner table and so many people we spoke to as part of the review, is the conversation about ‘what the hell is the future for my kids?’
“And that’s because they are already struggling to get jobs and they are applying for 400 jobs and ghosted by every employer they’ve applied to or they are 12 or 13 and already started to be turned off by mainstream education and thinking ‘I don’t know what the future holds’.”
Burnham backing
And Upton added the issue has the support of Sir Keir Starmer’s likely successor.
“One of the risks with an issue like this is the political turmoil around right now, but what I’m delighted to say is that it is really clear that the likely PM is hugely behind this and this is not going to go anywhere as a top tier policy issue.”
