TUC boss warns youth jobs fix needs big investment, not benefit cuts

Britain's youth jobs crisis won't be solved on the cheap. That's the message from Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, who says ministers need to spend far more on employment support and training instead of reaching for "arbitrary cuts" to benefits. In an interview with the Guardian, Nowak called the moment a "once in a generation chance" to secure young people's futures.

Nowak's push lands days before the Milburn review, the government-commissioned study by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn into young people and work. Ministers expect it to recommend welfare cuts to pay for job support aimed at the roughly one million young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet). The report slipped past the budget over fears its welfare-cutting proposals would clash with the chancellor's tax and spending plans.

The TUC chief argues the money flows both ways. "We can't afford to not do this stuff, as the benefits bill will go up if young people are not supported," he said, adding that investing in social infrastructure pays off just like investing in roads and rail. He also urged the government not to repeat its earlier benefit-reform stumble, warning against hitting the most vulnerable without a plan to move people into work.

Andy Burnham has called the surge in Neet young people an "economic catastrophe and a moral failure", saying tougher benefit rules plus more help for young people will shape the response to Milburn. Downing Street is treading carefully, still bruised by the welfare rebellion that forced Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves into a costly U-turn on planned disability benefit cuts within a year of taking power.

The public is watching closely. Focaldata polling for the Jobs Foundation puts the youth jobs crisis second only to the cost of living among Britain's biggest problems, ahead of NHS waiting lists, housing, crime and immigration. On Monday the charity, co-founded by Conservative peer Matthew Elliott, launches a national campaign against worklessness, with Amazon, Pret a Manger, NatWest, Marks & Spencer and Shell among employers pledging to back young people overlooked for jobs.

A government spokesperson said ministers are "determined to turn the tide on youth unemployment", pointing to £2.5bn already pledged in youth employment support. That money is meant to deliver almost 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, alongside talks with retail and hospitality brands to create up to 200,000 jobs for young people. More reform comes after the Milburn review, which the government says will be published in the autumn.