伯纳姆承诺改变年轻人的福利资格，并投资更多心理健康和就业支持，作为减少英国膨胀福利账单努力的一部分。
Burnham pledged to change benefit eligibility for young people and invest in more mental health and employment support as part of efforts to reduce the UK’s ballooning welfare bill.
英国首相表示，英国照顾年轻人的方式需要进行“彻底改变”，以便政府“投资于他们的成功，而不是为失败买单”。“我准备做出艰难决定，因为我无法接受我们有一百万或更多二十多岁的年轻人领取福利这一想法，”伯纳姆周五对《泰晤士报》电台表示。“这对他们没有好处。”伯纳姆政府面临越来越大的压力，要求削减福利账单。预算责任办公室预计，福利账单将从上一纳税年度的3340亿英镑膨胀至2031-32财年的4310亿英镑（5760亿美元）。
The UK prime minister said a “wholesale change” is need in the way Britain looks after its young people, so that the government is “investing in their success rather than paying for failure.”“I am prepared to take difficult decisions because I can’t accept the idea that we have a million or more young people in their 20s on benefits,” Burnham told Times Radio on Friday. “It’s not good for them.”Burnham’s administration is under growing pressure to make cuts to a welfare bill that the Office for Budget Responsibility projects will balloon to £431 billion ($576 billion) in 2031-32 from £334 billion last tax year.
前工党部长艾伦·米尔本预计将在未来几周内发布一份关于青年失业的长期审查报告。伯纳姆表示，该文件将涵盖年轻人需要哪些额外的社区、健康和教育支持。他说，“将需要预先投资于年轻人”，但随着时间的推移，将会出现一个“交叉点”，“随着时间的推移，节省的资金将会到来。”上周，财政大臣约翰·希利表示，他不会在本届议会期间降低英国的福利账单。一位财政部官员表示，福利账单将在2030-31财年下降，即下一次大选之后，下一次大选预计在2029年举行。
Former Labour minister Alan Milburn is due to publish a long-running review into youth unemployment in the coming weeks. that document will take in what additional community, health and educational support young people need, Burnham said. He said “there will be a need to invest up front in young people.” but that in time, there would be a “crossover point” and “in time, the savings will come.”Last week Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said he would not bring the UK’s welfare bill down during this Parliament. A Treasury official said the welfare bill would come down in 2030-31, after the next general election, which is due in 2029.
伯纳姆表示，政府对米尔本政策建议的回应将需要“福利和资格的变更”。他承诺将在他的十年计划中包含更多关于此事的细节，该计划原定于今年年底前发布，但现在可能会推迟到2027年初。
The government’s response to Milburn’s policy recommendations will necessitate “changes to benefits and eligibility,” Burnham said. He promised more details about his approach on the matter would be included in his 10-year-plan, which had been due before the end of the year but may now slip to early 2027.
当被问及将从何处筹集前期投资资金时，伯纳姆表示：“这将会很困难。我不会假装情况并非如此，但我们将重新确定优先次序，并将寻找资金，以构建我们对米尔本审查的回应。”
Asked where he would find the money for the upfront investment, Burnham said: “It is going to be difficult. I’m not going to pretend otherwise, but we will reprioritize, and we will find funding to build our response to the Milburn review.”
“这不是在为福利买单，而是在为机会买单，以便在长期内降低福利开支账单，”这位首脑表示。“我不会走过去那种粗暴削减开支的老路，那种做法只是盯着一个数字追。最终，那将导致我们在青年危机支持上支付更多费用。”
“It’s not paying for benefits, it’s paying for opportunity to bring the benefit bill down in the long run,” the premier said. “I will not go down a path here of the crude cuts that we’ve seen in the past, where we’re just chasing a number. In the end, that will lead to us paying even more on crisis support for young people.”