David Miliband is to chair a taskforce on youth unemployment set up by Acevo, which will produce a report in winter 2011.

According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics, the unemployment rate for 16-24 year-olds is 20.2 per cent, or 949,000 young people. Of this group, 671,000 are also not in full-time education.

The taskforce will consider the potential role of the voluntary sector but also look more broadly at potential solutions to the issue of youth unemployment. Over the course of the next few months the taskforce will be seeking evidence from Acevo’s 2,000 members and a wide range of experts and other groups from the public, private and third sectors.

Sir Stephen Bubb, CEO of ACEVO, said: “I am delighted that David Miliband has agreed to chair this taskforce on youth unemployment. His extensive experience inside government and the world of policy-making make me confident we will produce a seminal report on what is surely one of the most important issues facing the country – the employment prospects of our young people.”

The taskforce will be chaired by Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP, with a small number of other commissioners from across different sectors taking part as commissioners, including Katherine Kerswell (CEO, Kent County Council), Prof. Paul Gregg (Bristol University), Baroness Stedman-Scott (CEO of the charity Tomorrow’s People), and Jonathan Portes (Director, National Institute for Economic and Social Research).

The Commission has issued an initial call for evidence on 6 key questions, open until 23 September 2011, which is available here.