We can't afford to lose a generation of young people in Blackpool

When I visited The Platform this summer – Blackpool Council’s fantastic service for 16-to 24-year-olds – the team was still buzzing after hitting an incredible milestone. They had helped more than 1,000 young people reach positive outcomes since opening in 2022. Over 600 local young people helped into work, hundreds more supported into training or education, and all of them gaining confidence, stability and hope.

That’s what genuine opportunity looks like. And yet nationally, almost one in eight young people – nearly a million 16-to 24-year-olds – are currently not in education, employment or training. This is a crisis of opportunity.

Earlier this year, the figures revealed youth unemployment and NEET rates had reached an 11-year high. In towns like Blackpool the challenge is even greater. Though we’ve seen improvement thanks to determined local efforts, 845 young people here are still claiming unemployment benefits, and the NEET rate among 16 and 17-year-olds remains almost double the national average. Behind every one of these numbers is a young person whose future is being pushed further out of reach.

So I welcome the government’s announcement of an independent investigation into the rise in youth inactivity. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, this review is long overdue and urgently needed.

The data is deeply worrying. Over a quarter of young people who are NEET now cite long-term sickness or disability as a barrier to participation, more than double the proportion a decade ago. The number of young people claiming Universal Credit health and disability support has surged by more than 50% in just five years. And 80% of those on the UC health element list mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions among their challenges.

“This is not just a welfare or an employment issue – it’s a generational issue, one that cuts across health, skills, education and opportunity. And it demands a joined-up national response.”

Mental ill-health among young people has risen sharply and its impact on work, learning and life chances is devastating. New analysis from Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working review shows a 76% increase in economically inactive 1-34-year-olds with mental health conditions since 2019. The review also found that falling out of work early in life can cost over £1 million in lost earnings over a lifetime. For too many young people the consequences last far beyond their teenage years.

This is not just a welfare or an employment issue – it’s a generational issue, one that cuts across health, skills, education and opportunity. And it demands a joined-up national response.

I’ve seen the difference the right support can make. Young people like 19-year-old Paulina who came to The Platform after six months out of work or education, struggling with her health and confidence. With tailored support she secured a seasonal role at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and has now gone on to a Business Administration apprenticeship there. It’s a brilliant achievement and a chance every young person in this country deserves.

The government has already taken steps to tackle the problem – from expanding Youth Hubs to piloting Youth Guarantee trailblazers, improving access to mental health support in schools and offering job guarantees for long-term unemployed young people.

The Platform at my Jobs Fair last year

But this investigation will take this work further and take a hard look at the root causes behind young people are falling out of work or education before their adult lives have even begun. It will examine where the system is working, where it isn’t and what must change and it will do so by listening to young people with lived experience.

If we get this right, the prize is huge. We can transform life chances, support young people into good jobs, strengthen our communities and unlock the economic potential of the next generation. If we get it wrong we risk consigning thousands more young people to a lifetime of poor health, few opportunities and lost hope.

Blackpool’s young people are ambitious, talented and resilient. They deserve a system that matches that ambition. Local projects like The Platform prove what can be achieved when support is joined-up, grounded in the community and built on genuine belief in young people’s potential. We need that energy and commitment at a national scale.

We can’t stand by and watch a generation slip through the cracks. This review must be the turning point and I’ll be pushing to ensure that it is. The young people of Blackpool and Britain as a whole deserve nothing less.