‘No such thing as a free lunch,’ says Milburn as he warns it will take a decade for UK benefits bill to come down

Author of major review into youth unemployment rejects ‘crude cuts’ to payments and downplays opposition to his proposals within Labour

Alan Milburn has said “there is no such thing as a free lunch”, in response to critics who believe the government should make tougher cuts to out-of-work benefits for young people.

The former health secretary will publish a major review on Tuesday, urging ministers to implement radical reforms to address the UK’s youth unemployment crisis, which has seen the number of young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) rise to about a million.