One in eight young people not in work or education

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the UK labour market was “in a robust position” but there had been “a long-term challenge for young people”.

He said he was “looking forward” to recommendations on how to tackle the issue from Milburn.

“We’ll have proposals, legislation, if necessary, to take those forward,” he said.

McFadden spoke to the BBC during a visit to Boots in Nottingham, where young people had started jobs in a pilot of the government’s Jobs Guarantee scheme.

Over the next three years, it aims to support 90,000 young people who have been claiming Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. It funds 25 hours of paid work every week for half a year.

McFadden said there were also plans for 300,000 more work experience placements and 50,000 more youth apprenticeship starts, adding that the government had already rolled out £3,000 hiring incentives for employers who take on young people who have been out of work for six months.

The rise in the number of Neets between April and June compared to the same time last year was largely an increase among men.

An extra 25,000 men were estimated to be Neet, compared to another 4,000 young women.