Youth with mental health conditions should not be ‘written off’ work – Milburn

Young people with mental health conditions must not be “written off” from the workforce, a senior Labour figure leading the UK Government’s review into youth unemployment says.

Alan Milburn, who served as health secretary in the Blair era, told The Times successive governments have “pulled the ladder up” for young people in choosing to prioritise older generations.

Mr Milburn, a social mobility expert, is leading a UK Government review as ministers aim to tackle the rising number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (Neets).

“We’ve pulled up the ladder of opportunity for young people and then somehow or other we blame them for not climbing it,” he told the newspaper.

“When you look at what is happening in our demography, the truth is we’re going to have many more retirees than we are workers. So that’s why we’ve got to invest in the young. If we’re not investing in young people, we’re not investing in our country’s future.

“Unless we can create ladders of opportunity for young people, we’ll have a social crisis, an economic catastrophe and a fiscal time bomb.”

Mr Milburn highlighted concerns over the UK welfare system and the number of young people claiming out-of-work benefits for anxiety and depression.

“So, anxiety is normal,” he said.

“Depression is normal. I got asked a brilliant question the other day by the guy leading the mental health prevalence review for Wes [Streeting], which was what proportion of the adult population at any one time could be classified as having a mental health condition? I got the answer completely wrong.

“Because it’s 83 per cent. There’s a difference between a diagnosis and a disorder. And OK, so people might have anxiety or depression, but it doesn’t mean that therefore you should be written off for not being able to work.”

The review is due to report back in full next summer.

“We’re at real risk of the debate in the country being about work being bad for your mental health rather than overwhelmingly work being good for your mental health,” Mr Milburn said.

“Because the alternative to that is being unemployed, being out of work, being economically inactive, that’s bad for your mental health because you don’t have purpose. You don’t have earning power.”

It comes weeks after MPs launched an inquiry into the causes of Neets, as the total rises closer to one million.

The Work and Pensions Committee said tackling the number of under-25-year-olds classed as Neet was a priority for the UK Government.

Young people were said to be disproportionately exposed to job losses, with almost half of the jobs lost since June 2024 among under-25s.

The committee said that in response, the UK Government has launched several initiatives to try to combat the problem, as well as funding to help deliver 50,000 more quality apprenticeships.

While education and training are devolved to the Welsh Government, welfare and benefits policy remains the responsibility of the UK Government and applies in Wales.