Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of excluding people aged 25 to 30 who are not in education, employment or training from NEET statistics on the identification of labour market disengagement.

The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for the definition of those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The ONS uses the Labour Force Survey to collect data on the number of NEETs in the UK.

The quarterly release is currently designated as official statistic in development. Decisions about the age range covered by published NEET statistics are a matter for the independent ONS.

DWP provides employment support through its Jobcentres to help working-aged people get back into work, including those aged 25 to 30.