A minister has insisted that the Labour party will not apply the national living wage to all over-18s before the upcoming election, following the release of the Milburn report on youth unemployment.

The first part of Alan Milburn's report on young people Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEETs) in the UK warns of a potential increase to 1.25 million NEETs by the early 2030s. The report describes the current situation as a 'record of failure'.

A report by Alan Milburn is set to conclude that young people are being abandoned to a life on welfare, noting that only £1 is spent on helping them into work for every £25 spent on benefits.