Young People and Work

Lord Blunkett Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I was with the noble Baroness for the first part of her question. She is right: the Milburn report does identify a wide-ranging problem and a need for systemic and country-wide action. I am afraid that she may not have read it as carefully as she should have in relation to the last part of her question. Alan Milburn is very clear in paragraph 266 that

“it is worth remembering that those under 21 remain exempt from employer NICs and, as the review has already highlighted, the increase in youth inactivity long precedes any recent changes”

to NEETs. Employers do not pay national insurance contributions for under-21s, or for apprentices under 25. If national insurance contributions were really responsible for the rise in NEETs, why did the number increase by 250,000 before the general election and before any changes to employer national insurance were made?

[Lord Blunkett (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that excellent response. As she knows, I have been obsessed with this issue for many years, and I strongly welcome the fact that the Secretary of State asked Alan Milburn to undertake this review. Does she agree that this gives the opportunity, through the final report, to offer a comprehensive and coherent approach, including drawing together the measures the Government have already put in place? Does she also agree that the way this report was presented and communicated to the public was an exemplar that all of us in politics might learn from?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I do agree with my noble friend. The report rightly identified the systemic issues that have led to one million young people not being able to earn or learn. It is therefore this Government’s responsibility to take action—as we have already started to do—through the education system, through our youth services and through our welfare and health systems to address the wide range of issues that are leading to young people’s failure to start their working and learning lives in a way that will lead to the sorts of futures we all want them to have.