Young people 'abandoned on benefits' for decades with no support in job search
Only £1 is spent on employment support for every £25 spent on benefits, the report says
Young people receiving benefits have been "abandoned" in their job search, a landmark report concluded, with many still on state support decades later.
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Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, is set to publish a report into why one million young people between 16 and 24 are not in education, employment or training.
A "catastrophic system failure" is leaving young people on health and disability benefits - but research found that half of them could work if given the right support.
Only £1 is spent on employment support for every £25 spent on benefits, the report says.
And, only half of overall benefit spending on young people goes towards requirements to look for work or support to find a job.
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Those who wish to work can be put off by a cliff-edge gap in the system, where gaining employment could mean they lose up to £2,000 a month in benefits.
"There is almost no intermediate step — no gradual build-up, no trial period that genuinely removes the fear of losing everything if a job does not work out," the report warns.
The report cites research by The Resolution Foundation which found the number of people claiming benefits with no work search requirements had doubled between 2019 and 2025 to 300,000.
By the age of 24, just one in four of PIP recipients (the main disability benefit) were in work.
Meanwhile, around seven in ten of those aged between 16 and 24 claiming benefits are still claiming the same financial support ten years later.
The report's analysis found that young people are becoming "stuck" in the welfare system.
Mr Milburn made it clear in the report that some disabled young people will never be able to work, and must be protected by the benefits system.
“The welfare system presents young people with a perverse choice. For a young person with a health condition, the pathway to inactivity can offer higher income, less hassle and lower risk than trying to find work.”
The review continues: “The problem isn’t that young people aren’t being chased enough — it’s that the system abandons them entirely, and that abandonment exacts a cost in lost income and life chances.
“This is a catastrophic system failure. More young people are getting trapped on benefits when the overwhelming majority of them want to work. Today’s welfare system is scarring their life chances. We have the worst of all worlds — worse outcomes but higher costs. It has to be reformed.”
Multiple governments have vowed to get a grip on the rising cost of the UK's benefits bill. Sir Keir Starmer attempted to reform disability benefits, but faced a revolt by more than 100 of his MPs.