Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to identify and support young people who are not in education, employment and training (NEET). All 16 and 17-year-olds are entitled to an offer of a suitable place in education or training under the September Guarantee, regardless of qualifications gained.

Since 2010, the department has put in place a range of policies that have significantly reduced the quantity of young people designated as ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET). The proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds NEET in 2022 was 12.3%, which is down 3.2 percentage points since 2010. This information can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2022.

A range of provision is available for young people aged 16-24 to equip them with the skills and experience they need to progress. This includes joined-up support to young people to help minimise time spent NEET, such as Youth Hubs and Supported Internships, which offer tailored support for young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The department’s ‘Get the Jump’ campaign is targeting young people aged 14 to 19 to ensure they are aware of all the education and training choices available to them, how they compare and where they can lead.

We are prioritising the rollout of Careers Hubs. Evidence shows that schools and colleges which are part of a Hub achieve almost double the amount of Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance than those not part of a Hub. This is important because each additional benchmark achieved by a school is typically associated with a 1.4% decline in NEET rates, amounting to a 9.7% decline if a school achieves all eight benchmarks compared to achieving no benchmarks, either fully or partially.

In addition to this, the National Careers Service (NCS) offers intensive support for the most disadvantaged cohorts of the working-age population, including NEET 18 to 24-year-olds. They can access impartial, local careers advice via the NCS, either face-to-face or via the telephone helpline, webchat or website.

The department is also taking steps to increase the number and quality of apprenticeships which will create further opportunities for young people. The new ‘Career Starter Apprenticeships’ campaign is raising awareness of apprenticeships which offer great opportunities for those looking for their first role after leaving full-time education, and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to share and promote this information through Job Centre Plus.

The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education, including free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education, such as travel, books, equipment, and trips, and support for childcare and residential costs where required. ​We allocated over £152 million in the 2022/23 academic year to institutions to help disadvantaged 16 to 19-year-olds with costs such as travel, with a further £31.7 million allocated for free further education meals.