This Tony Blair Institute report explores the breakdown of Britain’s “opportunity bargain” with young people. It finds that one in ten are economically inactive rather than unemployed, with long-term sickness, driven primarily by mental health, now the dominant reason for inactivity.
It argues that while government interventions provide important foundations for action, they do not address two deeper structural problems. First is a welfare system that can make inactivity a more secure destination than treatment, training or work. Second, the rising cost and risk of employment that can make businesses less willing to take a chance on someone with little experience. The report therefore calls for reform on both sides of the opportunity equation: on the demand side, it must ensure young people are willing and able to take opportunities. On the supply side, it must ensure employers are willing and able to provide them.
