Minimum wage rise has made it difficult for employers to hire young people, says Alan Milburn UK politics live

Alan Milburn, former health secretary under Tony Blair and chair of the Social Mobility Commission, led a review into why the number of young people not in education, employment or training is rising. His first diagnostic report is being published, with a second report on policy recommendations due in autumn. The report warns that Britain risks a 25% increase in NEETs to 1.25 million by the early 2030s without urgent government action to prevent a lost generation. Milburn’s findings are described as exceptionally thorough and hard-hitting. He also comments on former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recent essay, agreeing that some government policies have reduced firms’ willingness to hire young people, including concerns about the minimum wage and workers’ rights.

"Alan Milburn, who has health secretary under Tony Blair, once seen as a future PM, and later chair of the Social Mobility Commisson, was asked last year to lead a review into why the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) is rising. Today he is publishing his first diagnostic report, focusing on the causes of the problem. A second report, focusing on policy recommendations, is due in the autumn."

"Milburn says Britain risks a 25% rise in the number of Neets, to 1.25 million by the early 2030s, without urgent government action to avoid a lost generation. Milburn is publishing the full report, which runs to more than 200 pages and which is described by people who have read it as exceptionally thorough and hard-hitting, at a press conference this morning."

"Milburn did not get drawn into all the arguments in Blair's essay, but he did say that he agreed with the former PM about the need to review some of the government policies that reduced the willingness of firms to hire young people. In an interview on Times Radio, asked if he ageed with Blair that Labour had created a climate of difficulty for business to create entry-level jobs with an increase to the minimum wage and workers rights bill, Milburn replied: Well, certainly every employer that we spoke to raised these issues as real concerns, the minimum wage."

Read at www.theguardian.com