What is the Milburn Review?
The Milburn Review, led by former Labour Health Secretary Alan Milburn, is an independent UK government inquiry to investigate the rising number of young people (16-24) who are not in education, employment, or training - sometimes referred to as NEET.
This review provides an opportunity for the government to demonstrate that they are committed to investing in the success of young people and putting care at the heart of any reforms.
However, there is a risk that the review focuses too much on saving money, rather than how we can support young people to thrive and take their next steps into employment, education or training.
Will the Milburn Review help young people?
The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has committed to easing the cost of living, investing in people's success and helping them to live well, and putting care at the heart of government.
As we get the final report from this review, the following questions could help us determine if he is using this opportunity to deliver on those promises:
- Does it give you more hope and certainty about the future?
- Does it give everyone the support and opportunities they need to succeed?
- Does it help us all to live well?
- Does it show care, fairness and respect for everyone?
I think it's just seeing people as people.
What's the role of our social security system for young people?
Our social security system should provide us all, including young people, with stability, so we can avoid financial crisis as we recover from ill-health or find a job.
Without an adequate safety net, during periods of transition, like when we're leaving education or looking for a first job, the risk of financial insecurity increases.
This puts more pressure on households already living in poverty, makes it harder to look for work and can lead to poor health.
Social security should also act as a gateway to wider employment support, that gives young people the stability and confidence they need to find work and progress towards their goals.
What support do young people need?
Financial support
Not all young people will need financial support, however, many will and that support will be essential for finding work. Young people need to be able to afford appropriate work clothing, travel or equipment.
Furthermore, finding a job can require taking risks like moving to a new area, leaving home or retraining for a different role, and young people need financial security to be able to take those risks.
Right now, nearly half of people who are NEET are not accessing social security1. This could be down to the stigma associated with getting support, how complex and difficult it can be to apply for support, or a lack of awareness of what support is available.
We need to make sure everyone feels confident turning to the social security system for support when they need it.
I didn't know that there was Universal Credit that you could access if you were self-employed - I had no idea that that sort of support was available.
The shame around sometimes being unemployed on benefits or at a job centre or Universal Credit can affect finding work.
I think the difficulty for me was like finding out where to start.
Health and disability support
There has been a rise in ill health and disability, driven by several structural factors including insecure housing, long NHS waiting lists, low pay, rising living costs, and a lack of accessible, secure work.
Health and disability benefits exist to help people manage their health, stay independent, and have the financial security they need to live with dignity. There are two key benefits for people who need support because of disability or ill health.
1. Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
PIP is additional income to cover the extra costs people might have because of a disability or long-term physical or mental health condition.
It is up to you to decide how you need to spend it but, as an example, it could be used to pay for support workers, higher energy bills, or specialist mental health support.
This support is vital to help people to live independently, and where possible, it can enable them to work.
As a result, whether or not you receive PIP and how much you get is based on your daily living and mobility needs, rather than your income or the amount of money you have saved.
Here are a few examples of how PIP can help people to live independently:
…to actually be able to hire a cleaner so that I don't have to worry about it, so that it's just done and I can use my time and energy for other things which don't cause me pain and also make me able to do other things like the campaigning work...
…to get taxis if I need to get a taxi, buying prepped food so that I don't have to try and cook from scratch, which is something I love to do, but again, can be extremely painful for me to do.
…you get like the subscription like meal delivery boxes and they're like sent to your home. That's something I've relied on in periods as well, where again, it's difficult to get out.
2. Universal Credit Health
The health element of Universal Credit exists to replace income that you can't earn because your health condition limits your ability to work.
If a health condition or disability limits how much work you can do for longer than 28 days, you may need to have a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). If you are then determined to have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA), you are entitled to the health element of Universal Credit.
This support is essential for making sure young people can make ends meet when they're not well enough to work.
Employment support
Finding work can feel overwhelming without clear and accessible guidance on how to search for opportunities or navigate the job market. But tailored employment support can help young people to grow in confidence and explore their aspirations and needs.
Earlier this year, the government announced a package of new measures for young people including:
- A Jobs Guarantee which offers fully funded six-month work placements for young people who face long-term unemployment.
- More Youth Hubs where you can get practical help with skills, work, confidence and wellbeing.
- New work experience and training placements to help you get hands-on experience and build skills.
Our Jobcentres have a key role to play in bringing support together for young people. They should give young people time and support to prepare for their next steps into work.
Right now, people engaging with the Jobcentre must meet certain conditions, such as completing 35 hours of work search. If they don't do this, they can be sanctioned - meaning their payments are stopped until they start meeting their conditions again.
Although sanctions are not frequently used, young people are more likely to be sanctioned than other age groups, and the threat of sanctions hangs over every interaction.
The government's own evidence shows that sanctions don't work. They do not increase employment overall and where sanctions do push people into work, it is often into lower-paid and less secure jobs2.
And even more importantly, the constant threat of sanctions adds to the feeling that our social security system is trying to catch us out, instead of supporting us. This can be harmful for young people's health and wellbeing3 and even put them off getting the support they need, pushing them away from work and independence4.
…although the title is work coach, a lot of times it feels like you're reporting to someone and they're there just to see, are you doing what you need to or do we need to give you any penalties…
How can we make sure our social security system builds a better future for all of us?
Most of us will need the social security system at some point in our lives. When we do, we should be able to trust that support will be there for us and that we will be treated with dignity and respect.
That's why Turn2us is campaigning for our government to make decisions that support our society as a whole and invest in a better future for everyone. But we need your help.
A system that treats people with dignity and respect is a system that works. And together we can show the government why the priority should be to make us feel safe and confident to try new opportunities and live independently.
- LSE Blogs (2025). Three myths about NEETs in the UK. Three myths about NEETs in the UK
- Department for Work and Pensions (2023) The impact of benefit sanctions on employment outcomes.
- Z2K (2024) Security not sanctions: Making Universal Credit work for seriously ill and disabled people.
- Public Law Project and Central England Law Centre (2025) Sanctionable failures: Universal Credit's failing sanctions regime and the harm it causes.