Alan Milburn is expected to propose subsidized flexible jobs for disabled young people.
Why it matters: The recommendations could influence labor-market policy, employer incentives and public spending as the U.K. confronts persistent youth inactivity. They could also affect how paid work interacts with disability benefits.
- The review is expected to recommend state-created and subsidized paid jobs, including flexible roles, for disabled people aged 16 to 24.
- In the financial year ending 2026, 30.2% of disabled 16- to 24-year-olds were not in education, employment or training (NEET), versus 8.6% of non-disabled young people.
- Disabled young people made up 45.3% of the 890,000 people aged 16 to 24 who were NEET in the financial year ending 2026; that share was 24.2 percentage points higher than in 2014.
- The final recommendations, subsidy costs, eligibility rules and government response have not yet been published.
Alan Milburn’s forthcoming final review of youth employment is expected to call for a jobs “revolution” focused on disabled people aged 16 to 24, according to a Guardian report published November 5, 2026.
The reported recommendations include state-created and subsidized paid jobs, including flexible roles for people able to work limited or variable hours. They are also expected to propose expanded skills support and more flexible routes into employment. These are reported recommendations, not yet a settled government policy.
Youth inactivity refers to being outside work, education or training. The standard measure is NEET: not in education, employment or training. Official statistics for the financial year ending 2026 show that 30.2% of disabled 16- to 24-year-olds were NEET, compared with 8.6% of non-disabled young people. The figures are published statistics for that financial year, not projections.
The same statistics count 890,000 NEET people aged 16 to 24. Disabled young people represented 45.3% of that group - a share of the total NEET population, not the NEET rate among disabled young people. That composition share was 24.2 percentage points higher than in 2014.
Milburn has pointed to supported internships, which combine workplace learning with support from an education provider and are designed to lead to sustained paid employment. A government evaluation found that 48% of participants entered permanent paid work by the end of, or shortly after, their internship, according to the government’s published employment statistics. Milburn said, “With the best ones around 70% of the people on them end up in paid employment,” the Guardian reported.
The proposal’s job hours, wages, duration, subsidy level, eligibility and employer obligations remain unknown. The final review and the government’s response will determine whether the reported recommendations become policy.
By the numbers
- 30.2% - share of disabled 16- to 24-year-olds who were NEET in the financial year ending 2026
- 8.6% - corresponding share among non-disabled 16- to 24-year-olds
- 45.3% - share of the 890,000 NEET 16- to 24-year-olds who were disabled
Yes, but: The proposal remains unsettled: the final review, subsidy design, eligibility rules, employer obligations and government response have not been published.
What's next: The final review and the government’s response are expected to clarify whether the reported recommendations will become policy.