‘No such thing as a free lunch,’ says Milburn as he warns it will take a decade for UK benefits bill to come down

Milburn told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that the government would need to be "candid with people", and it would take 10 years for the benefits bill to come down and for the country to reach a "reasonable level" of youth unemployment through his recommendations.

He also warned that the additional investment in young people would cost billions of pounds over a 10-year period, adding that it was impossible to "wave a magic wand" and fix the crisis sooner.

"You can if you just do crude cuts," Milburn clarified. "But if you do crude cuts in benefits, all that happens is that young people show up somewhere else on the government ledger."

Political Response

When asked about critics like opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, who has called for benefits to be slashed over a short period, Milburn responded: "There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you are going to will the ends, you've got to will the means."

The Labour government is expecting opposition to Milburn's recommendations from its own MPs on the left of the party, who previously rebelled against Keir Starmer's plans to reform welfare.

Milburn noted that Labour MPs understand in their constituencies there are "hundreds, sometimes thousands, of young people who are being doomed to a life on benefits."

Proposed Reforms

Milburn's report will promise almost half a million job and education opportunities within a decade while advising sweeping changes to the benefits system for under-25s.

It will recommend that some young people with disabilities should lose their ongoing personal independence payment (Pip), instead being able to apply to local funds for short-term expenses and equipment.

While entitlement for those with the most severe needs will be protected, most under-25s will no longer be eligible for either Pip or the health element of universal credit and will instead get a new youth allowance paid at the standard universal credit rate.

International Approach

Speaking to Sky News, McFadden acknowledged the overhaul would have an "element of compulsion" for Neets, suggesting government intervention to compel young people to work or train would be strengthened.

He noted that countries which had successfully dealt with youth unemployment, such as the Netherlands, had teams who "literally knock on your door" and offer young people options for training or work.

McFadden also warned that some people would receive fewer benefits as a result of the proposals, explaining that the number of young people claiming Pip had doubled since the start of the decade, while the number on the health element of universal credit had increased by 80%.