Interim report into young people and work published – our response

May 28, 2026

Read the interim report from Alan Milburn in full here.

Alan Milburn, the former Health Secretary, has published his interim report into young people and work.

The report, commissioned by the Government, identifies the challenges and issues facing young people getting into work. The full report, which will include solutions and recommendations, will be published at a later date.

It finds that young people ‘are caught in a perfect storm’ and that this is an ‘economic crisis’.

The UKHospitality team has been heavily engaged in the process and the challenges facing hospitality is reflected throughout the report.

It gives clear analysis about the impact of rising costs on job opportunities for young people, as well as recognising hospitality as a critical employer of young people.

Our response

We said the findings clearly demonstrate the damaging impact of increasing costs on job opportunities.

Allen Simpson, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said: “This interim report is clear sighted analysis of how significantly increasing employment costs directly reduces job opportunities, particularly for young people.

“The rapid loss of around 100,000 hospitality jobs after the 2024 Budget and the increase to employer NICs was the canary in the coal mine and should have been recognised as such by the Government.

“The solution is to reduce the cost of employment for hospitality businesses. As the biggest youth employer and driver of social mobility, thousands of job opportunities can be unlocked as a result. The Government needs to make it economically beneficial to employ young people once again.

“As Alan Milburn has said, there needs to be a shift towards getting more people work ready. We agree wholeheartedly, and already have in place supported pathways into work, like the Hospitality Skills Passport, which directly helps people who are out of work into hospitality jobs.

“Utilising this kind of pre-employment training is critical, as well as delivering reform of the Apprenticeship Levy to allow employers to more effectively use their levy funds to support this work.”