Alan Milburn Proposes Opportunity Revolution for Disabled Youth
Alan Milburn recommends a state-subsidized jobs revolution to increase employment access for disabled and chronically ill young people in the United Kingdom.
Former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn has proposed an "opportunity revolution" to increase job access for disabled and chronically ill 16- to 24-year-olds in the United Kingdom. The review identifies the high number of young people not in education, employment, or training as a moral and economic crisis, noting that nearly half of this group are disabled.
Milburn recommends introducing "flexi-jobs" based on a Danish model, which would allow participants to set hours based on their capacity while the government tops up their wages. The proposal also suggests "job carving" to split entry-level roles into smaller tasks and encourages large employers to adopt voluntary employment targets.
To fund these initiatives, Milburn suggests redirecting a portion of the 4 billion pound annual expenditure on disability benefits toward employment and training support. This specific funding mechanism is expected to face opposition from some Labour MPs and disability campaigners.
