Mr Milburn, who served in Tony Blair\u2019s government, told MPs that the benefits bill for young people was \u201cescalating fast\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe number of young people claiming a health and disability benefit has doubled in five years; that\u2019s pretty exponential, and that\u2019s rising faster than the rate of disability in society is being diagnosed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that 430,054 16 to 24-year-olds were claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in January 2026, up from 240,854 in January 2021.<\/p>\n
Mr Milburn warned that there were design failures in the benefits system that acted as a \u201cdisincentive\u201d for young people to find work.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe have to ask of the welfare and benefit system, is it maximising their participation and is it maximising the amount of employment support that is made available to them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Milburn told MPs: \u201cI think sometimes we risk as a society falling into the trap of saying that somehow work is bad for people\u2019s mental health. We know the reverse is true. Not being at work is deeply bad for people\u2019s mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stopping sick notes<\/p>\n
The warning comes as the Government battles to get more people back into work. On Wednesday, it announced that GPs in England will stop issuing \u201csick notes\u201d as part of NHS trials aimed at cutting the number of people signed off work because of ill health.<\/p>\n