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In the November Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £820m of funding to support 18 to 21-year-olds into education or paid employment.

Those who have been Neet for more than 18 months were also to be given a six-month paid work placement. Anyone who refuses could risk being stripped of their benefits.

The chancellor added that the government would fund a scheme to make apprenticeship training for under-25s at small and medium businesses "completely free".

Association of Colleges head David Hughes said the money would enable colleges to support more young people so they do not end up not in education, employment or training.

But he said more money was needed for adult education funding, and to ensure "millions of adults are not left behind by the tech and green revolutions we are seeing before our eyes".

Milburn is asked about the recommendations he will make, which are expected later this summer.

He says that when employers take on young people they are always taking a risk, and ministers need to minimise the risk and maximise the incentives for businesses to make those choices.

He adds that there needs to be a "reset" of the system.

"All too often [...] it's transporting young people into a world of benefits, not into a world of work."

Milburn is next asked whether there is a danger that older generations think younger people are work shy.

He acknowledges that you hear those sort of remarks sometimes, but emphasises that the evidence he has seen points to the fact "this is a generation that is trying".

He says young people are putting in dozens, "sometimes hundreds" of job applications - and then at times not even hearing back.

"I've never known anything like this," he says, adding that there is a sort of "contract" in society where if you put in effort, you get reward but that contract is being "broken".

"This is a moment in time where we have got to act," Milburn adds - directing this at the government but also at employers.

Former Health Secretary Alan Milburn says that young people are "caught in a perfect storm".

He tells BBC Breakfast the "first rung" on the career ladder is "more out of reach" for this generation of young people.

He says it is not a shortage of effort but a "shortage of opportunity".

Report author Alan Milburn is due to speak to BBC Breakfast in the next few minutes.

We will bring you the key lines from his interview in this page.

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Image source, Michael Owen

Michael Owen, from Leeds, says he has been out of work since December 2024, despite applying to hundreds of jobs in recent years.

Prior to this, the 27-year-old computer science games development graduate, was working one day a week developing a video game on a four-month contract.

Living at home with his mum, dad and niece, he receives around £300-£400 in Universal Credit each month, which he has been claiming for the last three years. He says this is manageable because he is not the type to spend money dining out.

However, Michael, who has epilepsy, says this restricts his ability to continue to learn to drive, and public transport links hold back his job search.

He lives 25 minutes away from his nearest train station and it's about 30-45 minutes to Leeds city centre on the bus.

Image source, BBc

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Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately says she is "very concerned" by the number of young people not in work, education or training across the country.

Whately tells Radio 4's Today programme that the Conservatives would tackle this issue in two ways - rolling back "some of the red tape" in the Employments Rights Bill and "backing businesses" to create new jobs.

Pushed specifically on what the Tories would do differently if in power, Whately explains: "To the extent that [Labour has] tried to do something to help young people, it's been things like paid for work experience programmes.

"What people really want is jobs - you've got to back businesses to create jobs."

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Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden says he commissioned Alan Milburn's report because the UK "cannot afford to lose a generation of young people".

He says it "lays bare the scale of the challenge and the root causes of youth unemployment we now need to confront".

McFadden pledges the government will work with employers, charities and young people "to drive real change, so more young people are earning or learning, not left behind".

There's lots going on this morning - here's a rundown of what to expect:

We know some of what will be in this interim report already because late last night a few details were released ahead of its publication.

In the next hour we'll hear directly from the report's author, Alan Milburn, who will be speaking to the media - including the BBC - about his findings.

After that - at 09:30 BST - we're expecting the latest figures on the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) to be released by the Office for National Statistics.

Then around 90 minutes later - at 11:00 - the report will be released, which will coincide with Milburn holding a news conference.

We'll be covering all of these moments throughout the morning, and we'll also bring you reaction and analysis throughout.

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The first rung of the career ladder "has thinned" and for too many young people is now "out of reach", Alan Milburn is expected to say in a short address as the report is published.

The situation places young people in a "hopeless catch-22 where employers ask for work experience but the opportunities for young people to gain it have narrowed or gone", he will say.

"Six in 10 have never had a job. Twenty years ago, that figure was closer to four in 10," he will say, with a warning that "detachment" is becoming permanent and "we are at risk of a lost generation".

Milburn is also expected to say that this situation is "not a failure of young people", but "a failure of a system stuck in the past".

Fixing this "should be the priority for the government" and "for all of us", he will say.

Today's report is all about young people not in education, employment or training (Neet).

The specific age range is between 16 and 24.

So to be considered Neet, a person must be that age and:

• Be unemployed - looking for work
• Or economically inactive - not engaged in paid work, and not actively looking for work in the four weeks before being surveyed, not waiting to start a job, or caring for family

• Not be in formal education, such as school or university, or on a vocational course
• And not be participating in any training schemes, such as apprenticeships or internships

There were 957,000 young people who were Neet in the UK in the period from October to December 2025. That's equivalent to 12.8% of all people aged 16 to 24.

Read our deep dive on Neets.

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One in six young people will not be in education, employment or training in the next five years unless urgent action is taken, a new review has warned.

Former Health Minister Alan Milburn is due to release a report later this morning into so-called Neets, warning the number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work, education or training could rise to 1.25 million by 2031.

"We are at risk of a lost generation," Millburn is set to say in a speech later, with young people in a "hopeless catch-22".

The latest unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds is 16.2% - the highest since 2014.

We expect to hear from Milburn this morning ahead of the report's release, and we will bring you all of the key lines when it is published.