Number of young people in UK not in education, employment or training hits one million, figures reveal, as fears of a ‘lost generation’ rise – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as number of UK ‘Neets’ hits 12-year high

Number of Neets in UK could hit 1.25m by early 2030s, Milburn review will say

Elsewhere this morning, Labour has adopted regulations intended to prevent local councils from going bust after they make risky investments that jeopardise their finances.

Ministers will be handed powers to intervene that have been dormant since 2003, the ministry of housing, communities and local government (MHCLG) said.

“In Woking, Thurrock, and other councils we’ve seen poor investment decisions leaving taxpayers footing a big bill.

“We can’t afford to wait until a council is on the brink of collapse to act. That’s why we want to bring in new powers so we can identify the risks and act before its too late.”

“Many of Alan Milburn’s findings reflect the evidence received in our own inquiry on Youth Employment, Education and Training. We await Mr Milburn’s conclusions and recommendations, but when giving evidence to the Select Committee, he referred to the causes of the current youth employment crisis being as broad as they are deep. It’s clear that whatever his recommendations, it will require systemic change, needing a whole government approach to fix this.

“We agree that this is not the so-called ‘snowflake’ generation that too many have referred to. But the urgency must be recognised. We cannot see the lives of so many young people be blighted in this way.

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