Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department uses data on people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) to develop policy in the context of changes in the number of people who are NEET.

The department collects and uses a range of data and evidence relating to young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to inform policy, including ‘Participation in education, training and employment’, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/participation-in-education-and-training-and-employment/2024.

The department also uses NEET age 16 to 24 statistics, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.

In developing policy, the department engages with a range of externally produced research and evidence, including through the Youth Futures Foundation – the What Works Centre for youth employment.

The post-16 education and skills white paper set out our objectives for a skills and employment system with a clear focus on re-engaging those who are NEET. The white paper recognises evidence shows there are certain characteristics that can increase the risks of young people becoming NEET. These include young people with low prior attainment, from low socio-economic backgrounds or who have special educational needs or mental health problems. The white paper includes a range of measures which apply the use of data to respond to these challenges, such as improving early identification and tracking through better data sharing and artificial intelligence-driven risk indicators.