David Young, Baron Young of Graffham

Young is the elder son of a businessman who imported flour and later set up as a manufacturer of coats for children. He went to Christ's College in Finchley and then University College London, to take a law degree as an evening student during his time as an articled clerk to become a solicitor, being admitted to the roll of solicitors in 1955.

Having qualified as a solicitor, Young only practised for a year, after which he joined Great Universal Stores as an executive, working for part of that time as an assistant to the chairman, Sir Isaac Wolfson Bt. In 1961 he left GUS and set up his first business, Eldonwall Ltd. with funding from the Gestetner Family Settlements. During the sixties he built up a group of companies in industrial property, construction and plant hire, selling out in June 1970 to Town & City Properties PLC where he joined the board.

After the property crash of 1973/4 he assisted Jeffrey Sterling (later Lord Sterling) to reverse his company into T&CP to form a group that later became P&O. In 1975 he left the board and entered into a joint venture with Manufacturers Hanover, and became Chairman of Manufacturers Hanover Property Services, lending on real estate in the United Kingdom and overseas. He also had a number of other commercial interests. He sold out all his commercial interests in 1980 upon entering the Department of Industry. His younger brother Stuart Young served as Chairman of the BBC.

Young became involved in voluntary organisations as Chairman of the vocational training charity British ORT; he was made a Director of the CPS in 1979 shortly after the general election that brought Margaret Thatcher to power. On the first day of the new government, Keith Joseph, the Secretary of State for Industry appointed him his advisor responsible for what later became known as privatisation.

Because of his involvement with vocational training through ORT, he was picked by Norman Tebbit when he was Secretary of State for Employment to be the Chairman of the Manpower Services Commission in 1981, the Government Agency dealing with unemployment and training matters. As such he became involved in government decisions and the Cabinet ministers who dealt with him regarded him very positively; he made his position as a 'dry' on economic policy.

He was created a life peer taking the title Baron Young of Graffham, of Graffham in the County of West Sussex on 10 October 1984.[2] One month later, on 11 September it was announced that Young was to enter the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio (the first for twenty years) to advise the government on unemployment issues. As Minister without Portfolio he was appointed to the Privy Council. On 2 September 1985 he became Secretary of State for Employment.

Young then went back to business as a Director of Salomon Inc. and Executive Chairman of Cable and Wireless. From 1993 he was President of the Institute of Directors and from 1995 was Chairman of Council of University College, London. Young was the first President of Jewish Care (1990–1997).

He retired from Cable & Wireless in 1995 and in 1996 he set up his own company, Young Associates Ltd, with two partners Simon Alberga and Yoav Kurtzbard, that actively invests in technology companies. Outside Young Associates he has a number of business interests. He is chairman and controlling shareholder of the Camcon Federation of companies, a Cambridge-based federation of companies with innovative technology in the Oil and Gas, Auto and Medical fields. He is controlling shareholder and on the board of TSSI Systems Ltd, a long established company in security technology and in both these companies he works with Danny Chapchal. He is a substantial shareholder and Chairman of Deep Tek Ltd a company with developed technology to enable operations in deep and ultra deep waters in the Oil and Gas sectors and in scientific exploration. He is a substantial shareholder and Chairman of KashFlow Software Ltd, a leading provider of online accounting for SMEs.

In 1996, Young was involved in the privatisation of the Rostock Port, in Germany. Following several years of decline in port traffic, the Rostock city council agreed to sell the port to Kent Investments Ltd., a company controlled by Young,[4] in partnership with two Israeli businessmen Menachem Atzmon, and Ezra Harel.[5] It was later discovered that Lord Young was only a frontman for the Israeli investors. The two were later under investigation by Israel Securities Authority, suspected of fraud and breach of trust. They acquired the port by obtaining a loan from Rogosin Industries, a public company they controlled, which raised the money by issuing bonds. Rogosin Industries then received an option to buy 25 percent of the port in exchange for forgiving the loan. Rogosin Industries eventually exercised this option, which left Harel and Atzmon owning 75 percent of Rostock Port using Rogosin's funds.[6] The case was investigated after Rogosin Industries defaulted on its bonds, as it run out of cash to pay its bondholders.[7] The company later went into liquidation.[8]

He also has a number of pro bono or charitable interests including the Presidency of Chai Cancer Care and the Coram Trust, Chairman of the Chichester Festival Theatre and of the Jewish Museum London and Trustee of the Co-Existence Trust and the MBI Al Jaber Foundation.[9] In December 2010, he also became a Patron of Lifelites, the charity providing technology for children in hospices.

In June 2010, Young was appointed adviser to the Prime Minister by the coalition government to review health and safety laws:[10]

"To investigate and report back to the Prime Minister on the rise of the compensation culture over the last decade coupled with the current low standing that health and safety legislation now enjoys and to suggest solutions. Following the agreement of the report, to work with appropriate departments across government to bring the proposals into effect."[11] See report 'Common Sense Common Safety' below.

In July, he moved from the Cabinet Office to Number 10. In November 2010, Young was obliged to apologise for having told the Daily Telegraph that, "For the vast majority of people in the country today, they have never had it so good ever since this recession – this so-called recession – started..."[12] He resigned,[13] but was subsequently reappointed.[14]

In October 2010, he was appointed Enterprise Adviser to the Prime Minister and asked to conduct a "brutal" review of the relationship of government to small firms. This resulted in a three-part review to the Prime Minister on enterprise and small business.

In May 2012, Young delivered the first part of this review. Entitled Make Business Your Business, it was the first of its kind since the Bolton Report of 1971. Young's report highlighted the number of start-up businesses to indicate a growing culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the UK. The report introduced a new Government programme, Start Up Loans, providing loans and mentoring to get a business venture started. Start Up Loans have so far provided over £129 million of loans to 25,000 people.[15]

In June 2013, Young delivered Growing Your Business,[16] which looked at how new and developing small firms can grow and expand into new markets. Following this, the Government introduced reforms of public procurement with the aim of making it easier for small suppliers to win public sector contracts; a new Small Business Royal Charter, which aimed to extend the reach of university business schools into their local small business communities and a Growth Voucher programme to assist companies "find and pay for professional strategic advice".[17]

In June 2014, Young reviewed the relevance of enterprise in education in Enterprise for All.[18] In December 2014 the Government accepted Young's recommendations in this report. These include the introduction of Enterprise Advisers, intended as a dedicated resource available to Head Teachers to support them in developing an appropriate careers and enterprise offer for their students and an 'Enterprise Passport' through which young people will record their enterprise and extracurricular activities alongside their academic qualifications to future employers.

Lord Young was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2015 New Year Honours.[19][20]

Young's political autobiography, The Enterprise Years, was published in 1990.

In October 2010, he released a review of workplace health and safety in the UK "Common Sense Common Safety",[21] which faces many of the issues and saying that businesses now operate their health and safety policies in a climate of fear because sensible health and safety rules that apply to hazardous occupations have been applied across all occupations and the excessive "enthusiasm with which often unqualified health and safety consultants have tried to eliminate all risk rather than apply the test in the Act of a 'reasonably practicable' approach."

He said that part of the responsibility lay with the EU's 1989 Framework Directive, which made risk assessments compulsory across all occupations, whether hazardous or not. Within days of the release of the review, all health and safety stories in the press ceased.

In May 2012 he published his report 'Make Business Your Business' the first comprehensive report on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since the Bolton Report of 1971,[22] this was followed in May 2013 by 'Growing Your Business' which deals in the main with micro-businesses and small firms employing fewer than 25 people.[16]

Young is married to Lita (née Shaw), and they have two daughters, Karen and Judith.

Coat of arms of David Young, Baron Young of Graffham

Crest Within a circlet of roses Argent barbed and seeded Proper placed alternatively with bluebell flowers also Proper a lion's head Azure amid a show of three oak trees Proper fruited Gold. Escutcheon Argent eight barrulets Azure overall a sword in bend proper hilt pommel and quillions Or between two roundels gyronny enarched also Gold and Azure each within an annulet Gold. Supporters On either side in front of the exterior rear claws of a lion rampant reguardant Or a long-haired dachshund each respectant Proper. Motto Soluvere Est Servire [23]