Business
Inquiry to review rising levels of youth inactivity
An independent review into the rising number of young people not working or studying is being launched by the government.
Former Labour Health Secretary Alan Milburn will lead the inquiry into “Neets” – the acronym for young people who are not in education, employment or training.
According to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, the persistently high number of 16-24 year olds falling out of education or work is a “crisis of opportunity” requiring urgent action.
It is not a new problem but the number of young people who are Neet – now one in eight – has been rising in recent years and is approaching one million.
A quarter cite long-term sickness or disability as a barrier and the number claiming health and disability benefits is rising too.
The government says Alan Milburn’s review will dig into the reasons behind the rise and examine ways of cutting the long-term costs of youth inactivity and getting young people off benefits and into work.
Its conclusions will be published next summer.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called the broader benefits system unsustainable and unfair but so far selling welfare reform to Labour backbenchers has proved a political minefield for Number 10.
According to the Department of Work and Pensions, the number of young people claiming UC Health and Employment Support Allowance has risen by more than 50% over the past five years.
Some 80% of young people on the UC Health element currently cite mental health reasons or a neurodevelopmental condition.
Asked whether he thought over-diagnosis was fuelling a mental health crisis among young people, McFadden was quoted by the Sunday Times as saying: “I don’t want to play amateur doctor. I want to approach this with sensitivity.
“The question I’m asking is, given the higher reported number of these conditions among young people, what is the best policy response? I don’t believe there should be an automatic link between diagnosis and benefits.”
“If we get this right,” he added, “the prize is huge: transforming lives and life chances, with the pent-up potential of the next generation firing our economy and building a better future for all.
“We cannot afford to lose a generation of young people to a life on benefits, with no work prospects and not enough hope.”
Milburn said his review would be “uncompromising”, and expose any failings in employment support, education, skills, health and welfare.
“We cannot stand by and let a generation of young people be consigned to a life without employment or prospects,” he said. “It’s clear urgent action is needed.”
Business
Chip relief: China allows exports of Nexperia chips for civilian use; move to ease global auto supply strain – The Times of India
China has granted exemptions to export controls on Nexperia chips for civilian applications, its commerce ministry said on Sunday, signalling a potential easing of pressure on the global auto industry hit by supply shortages following earlier curbs, Reuters reported.The announcement marks Beijing’s strongest indication yet that it will relax restrictions imposed after the Dutch government took control of Nexperia, a key supplier of basic chips used in automotive electrical systems.Nexperia, based in the Netherlands but owned by China’s Wingtech Technology, had been at the centre of a trade standoff that disrupted global chip supplies. The Chinese ministry did not define what constitutes “civilian use,” but the move comes after German and Japanese companies said deliveries of Nexperia’s China-made chips had resumed.Despite the exemptions, China–Netherlands relations, and by extension ties with the European Union, are expected to remain strained until the dispute over Nexperia’s ownership and operations is resolved.The Dutch government seized control of the company on September 30, citing concerns that Wingtech’s plans to shift production to China posed a threat to European economic security.In response, China halted exports of Nexperia’s finished chips, which are primarily packaged in China, but last week said it would start accepting applications for export exemptions following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 30.China’s commerce ministry reiterated that it aims to protect global chip supply chains, while accusing the Netherlands of failing to act to resolve the standoff.In its statement Sunday, the ministry urged the European Union to “intensify efforts” to persuade the Netherlands to reverse its decision.“China welcomes the EU to continue leveraging its influence to urge the Netherlands to promptly rectify its erroneous actions,” the ministry said.
Eimear DevlinBBC Money Box reporter
Eve CravenThe UK’s tax body is reviewing its decisions to strip child benefit from about 23,500 claimants after it used travel data to conclude they had left the country permanently.
Normally the benefit runs out after eight weeks living outside the UK, but many people affected complained that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had stopped their money after they went on holiday for just a short time.
The move came after MPs on the Treasury Select Committee demanded answers from the tax authority.
HMRC has apologised for any errors and says anyone who thinks their benefits have been stopped incorrectly should contact them.
In September, the government began a crackdown on child benefit fraud which it believes could save £350m over five years.
The new system allows HMRC records to be compared with Home Office international travel data, and the tax authority had used this data to stop payments to thousands of families.
But it is now reviewing all of the cases following a growing number of complaints from people affected who said they had been on holiday, and had returned to the UK after a short time.
Eve Craven went on a five-day break with her son to New York. She told the BBC’s Money Box programme that about 18 months after the trip she received a letter saying the child benefit for her son had been stopped.
The letter cited her trip to the US, saying it had no record of her return.
“It gave me a month basically to give them all the requested information to prove that I’d come back to the UK,” she said.
“It’s just a very big ask for something that they’ve messed up on, and they should have been able to sort out themselves.”
Eve’s child benefit has now been reinstated with missing payments backdated.
The issue was first identified in Northern Ireland, where some families had flown out of the UK from Belfast, but then returned to Dublin – which is in the EU – before driving home over the border.
UK and Irish citizens can travel freely into each other’s countries under the Common Travel Area arrangement.
There are no routine passport checks when travelling through the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, meaning the UK government has no data to show that someone may have returned to Northern Ireland.
It is not clear how many errors have been made in total, or how.
HMRC told Money Box it would be reviewing all past cases “using PAYE data and where continued UK employment is found, will be reinstating payments and making any back payments necessary”.
It is aiming to complete its review by the end of next week.
MPs on the Treasury Select Committee are also now investigating.
Additional reporting by Nick Edser
Last Updated:
Mumbai ITAT rules compensation for flat delivery delays is not taxable under Section 50C. Experts say this offers relief to taxpayers facing project delays.
Section 50C Can’t Apply Without Actual Property Transfer, Rules Mumbai ITAT
In a significant ruling, the Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that compensation received for delay in construction or delivery of a flat cannot be taxed under Section 50C of the Income Tax Act. The tribunal clarified that such compensation is distinct from sale consideration and does not attract stamp valuation provisions.
The tribunal also emphasised that the delay compensation is essentially a form of interest paid by the builder for the inconvenience caused to the homebuyer due to delayed possession. As such, it is taxable under ‘Income from Other Sources’, in line with provisions applicable to interest income, and is subject to tax at the individual’s slab rate.
Commenting on the ruling, Anita Basrur, Partner at Sudit K. Parekh & Co. LLP, said the decision “clearly brings out that sale consideration and compensation are different.” She explained that Section 50C applies only when the sale consideration for a transfer of immovable property is lower than the stamp duty value. “In this case, the transfer involved a flat received in exchange for land, and the additional compensation was purely compensatory — not a sale consideration,” Basrur noted.
She added that the judgment offers timely relief for taxpayers amid rising cases of project delays and associated compensation payments. “With delays in projects and compensation becoming common, this decision will give the desired relief to purchasers and help settle several pending disputes,” she said.
CA Akshay Jain, Direct Tax Partner at NPV & Associates LLP, echoed similar views, clarifying the tax treatment of such payments. “Since there is no transfer of any capital asset at the time of receiving compensation for delayed possession, it cannot be taxed under capital gains,” he said. Jain added that such payments are “taxable under the head ‘income from other sources’,” not as capital receipts.
On the applicability of Section 50C to extinguishment of development rights, Jain explained that the section requires an actual transfer of land or building. “In case of extinguishment of development rights, there is no transfer of immovable property, so Section 50C cannot be invoked,” he said, citing the Mumbai ITAT’s ruling in Suvarna Chandrakant Bhojane vs ITO that supported this interpretation.
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst…Read More
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst… Read More
November 09, 2025, 16:43 IST
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