Keir Starmer says the current benefits system is unsustainable, unfair and needs changing to avoid a wasted generation of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet).
The government is concerned about the rising number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are Neet, which in the quarter to December 2024 was estimated at 987,000 in the UK. This is 13.4% of all young people in this age group. The increase, from around 11% in the period prior to the start of the pandemic, is linked to long-term illness among the economically inactive.
