Milburn Review is 'unflinching view of systemic barriers'
Action for Children responds to the Milburn Review.
Scott Compton, Senior Policy Advisor at Action for Children, said:
“This report takes an unflinching view of the deep-rooted disadvantages many young people face to entering employment, education and training. It rightly recognises too many young people are shut out of the labour market by systemic barriers, not individual failings or a lack of ambition.
“We have engaged closely with the Review [1], and through our frontline work with young people we see how poverty, homelessness, care-experience, neurodiversity and poor mental health are made worse by systems which do not offer the right support.
“For example, recent Action for Children research [2] highlighted care-experienced young people have specific support gaps linked to a higher likelihood of mental ill-health and a range of practical barriers such as access to transport, suitable clothing, ID documents and support for soft skills.
“We strongly support the Review’s call for urgent collective action to offer all young people the foundations to thrive. Its future recommendations must focus on early support to identify and help young people before they become disengaged, positive reform of the social security system that protects entitlements for disabled young people and expanded opportunities through the Youth Guarantee.”
[Not available for interview]:
Amari* (22) is a care leaver from Wales who is currently navigating education and preparing for future employment while managing complex physical and mental health needs.
She has experienced homelessness, foster care and hostels before independent accommodation, and has specific needs for ongoing mental and physical health conditions. Her circumstances and lack of readily available support continue to be a barrier to a career.
She has been supported by Action for Children’s Skills Plus+ program in Wales - a specialised psychosocial and independent living skills program for care-experienced young people. It provides 1-2-1 support, therapy groups, and training to help young people navigate adulthood.
Amari is now working towards a future in digital music and media production, with a specific interest in sound design.
On how the system operates right now, she says:
“Right now, it feels like a first-aid response to a haemorrhaging problem, and too often it feels like people don’t want to help until it’s already too late.
“If we want young people to access education and employment, we need early intervention support, flexible ways of working and learning, and practical solutions like accessible transport. Otherwise, we’re just asking people to push through barriers that were never meant to be there in the first place.”
About her own experience of the system, she added:
“Access to education and employment comes down to whether systems are willing and able to accommodate people like me. I’m working towards a career I know I can do, especially remotely, but I couldn’t commit to being somewhere every day because travel alone takes so much out of me.
“I spend over £400 a month on taxis because local public transport just isn’t accessible or realistic with my health, and that’s before I even think about other costs. Young people aren’t always seen as people in this process—we’re expected to fit into rigid systems instead of those systems adapting so everyone has a chance to progress.
On early help to identify needs and support young people, she said:
“When I was in secondary school, I was told to be more resilient when I was struggling and just to go into class. Nobody really asked what was wrong or tried to understand it until much later. That pressure didn’t build resilience, it built problems.
“I genuinely believe that experience contributed to both my physical and mental health issues, which now directly affect my ability to move through education and into employment. It becomes a cycle: you’re unsupported early on, and then later you’re expected to function as if nothing ever happened.
“I know no system will ever be perfect, but change is about trying to make things better and that’s what’s needed.”
*Name changed
ENDS
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Notes to editors
[1] Action for Children’s contribution to the review
As well as responding to Milburn’s Call for Evidence, Action for Children contributed to the research by convening groups of young people with experience of being NEET to take part in six in-person workshops in Cardiff, Penarth, Wrexham, Rhyl and Suffolk.
Some of these young people had physical or mental health conditions, neurodiversity, or SEND, and many were care-experienced, young carers, and from low-income backgrounds. We also convened two online workshops specifically for care-experienced young people with experience of being NEET.
[2] Research on care-experienced young people’s barriers to employment
Polling published on 21 May 2026 by Action for Children - funded by the John Lewis Partnership Foundation through their Building Happier Futures programme - showed care-experienced people face practical barriers to finding and beginning their first job, such as access to ID documentation, suitable work clothing and access to public transport.
Savanta conducted an online survey of 1,875 individuals aged 16–45 between 11th February 2026 and 25th March 2026 across the UK. Of the total sample, 1,451 participants were care-experienced individuals, which included 196 care leavers, while the remaining 414 participants comprised the control group.
The aim was to test several hypotheses, including on the scope and scale of ‘practical barriers’ to entering employment; the prevalence and impact of mental health conditions on seeking and starting work; and the relative importance of so-called ‘soft skills’ to employability.
About Action for Children
Action for Children protects and supports vulnerable children and young people by providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. With 342 services in local communities across the UK, in schools and online, in 2024/2025 we helped 551,400 children, young people, and families. actionforchildren.org.uk
