We bet Andy Burnham won’t, you know?

A major review into rising inactivity among Britain’s young people has been launched by the former health secretary Alan Milburn, with a promise not to shy away from “uncomfortable truths” or “radical” policy solutions.

We will bet - heavily and offer odds - that every uncomfortable truth will be ignored.

For the truths are that there’s little incentive to employ the young and little incentive for the young to work. As we all know, incentives matter, therefore….it’s the incentives that need to be changed.

Say, don’t tax employment as with employers’ national insurance. Don’t increase employment costs further with gargantuanly high minimum wages - as we keep pointing out it’s the young, untrained and untried who suffer from those. Reduce the costs of trying someone out by reducing the costs of firing them if it doesn’t work out.

Reduce the alternative incomes the young can gain by not working - yes, this does mean benefits.

Increase the incentive to get a job by decreasing the returns to not, increase the incentives to hire people by reducing the cost of doing so. This is not difficult logic but we are, as we say, near wholly certain that these uncomfortable truths will not be mentioned in this major review or if they are only to be dismissed.

Pity, isn’t it?

Tim Worstall