OOlder people used to be more likely than young people to be unemployed for health reasons, and worryingly this no longer applies – with more people in their early 20s unemployed due to illness than people in their early 40s. Like last week’s report from the Resolution Foundation’s notes, the transition to adulthood can be ‘tumultuous’. But youth should also be a time of health and cheerfulness. While the general increase in the number of long-term ill patients is up to 2.8 million people is worrying, it is particularly worrying that the number of under-24s in that cohort has doubled in ten years.
Psychological problems are not the only reasons for this, but they are important ones. The proportion of 11-16 year olds 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 mental health condition almost tripled up to 23,000. The crisis in college student mental health is well documented, as are the problems associated with teens’ social media use. In recent years, a number of families of young people who have committed suicide have become active campaigners for change, including a new duty of care for universities.
While the Resolution Foundation recognizes the seriousness of these issues, it highlights other issues that are less commonly discussed. Children aged 11 to 14 with poor mental health are three times more likely to fail five GCSEs than healthier peers, and almost 80% of 18 to 24 year olds unemployed due to poor health have no qualifications above the GCSEs. While universities spend an estimated £39 per student per year on mental health services, services in the community are stretched to their limits, with the longest waiting times in the most deprived areas. As Labour’s Liz Kendall noted in a speech on Monday, spells of unemployment in early adulthood can have lifelong consequences. Habits and patterns that then arise can be difficult to break.
Further education colleges – so often overlooked by policymakers – are rightly singled out by the Resolution Foundation as places where support needs to be improved. Currently, only 31% of students have access to a mental health support team (MHST), compared to 47% of students in schools. There also needs to be more help from employers, especially in industries where non-graduates are concentrated. But as constructive as such initiatives are, they should not be seen as a replacement for healthcare provided by professionals. The scholarship for schools and colleges to train a mental health leader costs just £1,200.
The expansion of youth centers beyond their limited remit of coaching job seekers has already been approved by Ms Kendall. Undoubtedly, young adults also need special services staffed by people who recognize the challenges they face. But while Labor is entitled to attack the government’s record, the measures announced so far are insufficient, while the promise to abolish the “option” of living on benefits seemed tailor-made for the right-wing press.
It is important to draw attention to the interconnected issues of worsening mental health and economic inactivity. But without policies that put good jobs and homes within reach of more young people, it is difficult to see how their well-being can be restored. After fourteen years of relentless attack on public services while housing costs have skyrocketed, it is no wonder so many are demoralised.