The White Paper

Joint Ministerial Foreword

To get Britain growing again, we’ve got to get Britain working again.

Our country’s greatest asset is its people. However, the talents of too many are being wasted because of spiralling economic inactivity. We’ve got 2.8 million people locked out of work due to long-term sickness.[footnote 1] 1 in 8 of our young people are not in education, employment or training.[footnote 2] 9 million adults lack the basic skills they need to get on.[footnote 3]

Behind these statistics are human stories played out time and again across the country. Young people with mental health problems, waiting for treatment, or lacking the basic qualifications they need to get a job and kick-start their career. People in their 50s and 60s struggling with chronic pain like bad joints, with women often caring for elderly relatives, who have huge experience to offer employers but far too few opportunities. The school-leaver let down because employment support is not designed to help them seize today’s opportunities.