Andy Burnham says "I can’t give you that blanket assurance" on adopting review’s recommendations

Andy Burnham declined to say he would adopt every recommendation from Alan Milburn’s forthcoming review of young people who are neither working, studying nor training, saying he would wait for the report’s details and respond with the Work and Pensions Secretary next week. The review, due Tuesday and covering nearly one million such youngsters, is reported to propose removing under-25s from the health-related part of Universal Credit and from PIP, moving them to a new, narrower system at the standard Universal Credit rate, while investing in employment support. Campaigners and some left-wing MPs, including Clive Lewis, have raised concerns about proposals being briefed before publication. Burnham described the review as significant for welfare policy and said any changes would require redirecting Whitehall spending rather than simply adding money, including toward earlier mental-health help and technical education.