Older people used to be more likely than younger ones to be unemployed for health reasons and it is unnerving that this no longer applies – with more people in their early 20s now workless due to illness than those in their early 40s. As last week’s report from the Resolution Foundation notes, the transition to adulthood can be “tumultuous”. But youth should also be a time of health and high spirits. While the overall rise in the number of long-term sick to 2.8 million people is concerning, it is particularly dismaying that the number of under-24s in that cohort has doubled in a decade.
Psychological problems are not the only reasons for this, but they are important ones. The proportion of 11-16s with a common mental disorder has risen from 17% to 23% in six years, while the number of new personal independence payment (Pip) claims from 18- to 24-year-olds with a psychiatric condition almost trebled to 23,000. The crisis in student mental health is well documented, as are problems linked to teenagers’ social media use. In recent years a number of families of young people who have taken their own lives have become active campaigners for changes including a new duty of care for universities.
While recognising the seriousness of these issues, the Resolution Foundation highlights others that are less often discussed. Children aged 11-14 experiencing poor mental health are three times more likely not to pass five GCSEs than healthier peers, and almost 80% of 18- to 24-year-olds who are workless due to ill health have no qualifications above GCSEs. While universities spend an estimated £39 per student a year on mental health, services in the community are stretched to breaking point, with the longest waiting times in the most deprived areas. As Labour’s Liz Kendall pointed out in a speech on Monday, periods of unemployment in early adulthood can have lifelong consequences. Habits and patterns set then can be hard to break.
Further education colleges – so often overlooked by policymakers – are rightly singled out by the Resolution Foundation as places where support should be improved. Currently, only 31% of students have access to a mental health support team (MHST) compared with 47% of pupils in schools. More help should also be offered by employers, particularly in industries where non-graduates are concentrated. But, constructive though such initiatives are, they must not be seen as a substitute for healthcare delivered by professionals. The grant for schools and colleges to train a mental health lead is just £1,200.
The expansion of youth hubs beyond their limited remit of coaching job-seekers has already been endorsed by Ms Kendall. Undoubtedly, young adults too need dedicated services staffed by people who recognise the challenges they face. But while Labour is justified in attacking the government’s record, the measures announced so far are insufficient, while the pledge to remove the “option” of a life on benefits seemed tailored for the rightwing press.
Focusing attention on the interlinked problems of worsening mental health and economic inactivity is important. But without policies that will place good jobs and homes within the reach of more young people, it is difficult to see how their wellbeing can be restored. After 14 years during which the public services have been under relentless attack, while housing costs have rocketed, it is no wonder that so many are demoralised.
