Exclusive: Former health secretary says upfront investment in support is needed ‘if we are going to end the Neet crisis’

Ministers should cut welfare spending to fund more employment support if it wants to end the youth Neet crisis, the author of a government-led review has said.

Alan Milburn, the Tony Blair-era health secretary, told the Guardian he believed ministers should reduce benefits payments to help pay for more employment support, opening a potentially contentious debate within the Labour party over welfare cuts.

Exclusive: Ministers considering overhaul of apprenticeship funding scheme to tackle youth jobs crisis

Employers in England are to be forced to pay more to train an older worker than a youth apprentice under plans being drawn up by the government to tackle the youth jobs crisis.

The Guardian understands ministers plan to overhaul Labour’s apprenticeship funding scheme to increase the cost of training by 25% for a worker over the age of 25 in order to encourage businesses to train young people instead.

Initiatives to address youth employment crisis and offer training are being launched in towns such as Telford

Smaller cities and towns across England have higher rates of young people not in employment, education or training than the nine largest cities, analysis shows.

The Centre for Cities, an independent thinktank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK, used 2021 census data to work out the rates across 41 cities and towns in England.

Labour says idea is ‘tin-eared’ as report says fixing rate will cost low-paid workers almost £9,000 over five years

A shadow minister has called for the government to freeze the minimum wage for five years, a move that could cost low-paid workers almost £9,000.

The call came in a report from the Prosperity Institute thinktank, which carries an endorsement from Andrew Sharpe, the shadow business minister. Sharpe said in his endorsement that it was time to take action to address the low rate of young people in work.

Restaurants and pubs such as Nando’s and Fuller’s will create placements for 18- to 24-year-olds under DWP-backed scheme

Bars, clubs and restaurants will offer up to 100,000 jobs to young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) over the next three years in an effort to give them a first step on the ladder into work.

The move comes before the publication of a report on Neets by the former health secretary Alan Milburn, who has warned that the number of young people not in work or education in the UK could rise to 1.25 million over the next five years unless ministers intervene.

Exclusive: Former minister’s review warns that dramatic action is needed over huge drop in youth apprenticeship starts

A national apprenticeship readiness scheme should be introduced in England to close the gap for young people between leaving school and starting work, the government is to be told.

Alan Milburn, who is leading a major review into Britain’s youth jobs crisis, will call for a new “national pre-apprenticeship route” to offer young people further education, training and work experience.

Anna Bird and Rick Burgess respond to the government’s proposal to axe the health element from universal credit that disabled people under 25 receive

Reports that the government is considering removing the universal credit health element for disabled people under 25 will be alarming for families (Key disability benefit for young people may be axed under major welfare changes, 1 October). For many, it raises serious concerns about how they will keep disabled young people supported and able to participate in everyday life.

At Contact, we hear from families worried about universal credit and its impact on disabled family members. Some receiving the health element are studying, working part-time or volunteering; others have disabilities so significant that paid employment is impossible.