Number of ‘Neets’ a societal and economic disaster, warns David Blunkett

The number of young people not in education, employment or training is “a societal and economic disaster”, former Labour Cabinet minister David Blunkett has told Parliament.

The stark warning was issued by the peer after latest official figures showed a rise in the number of so-called Neets aged 16 to 24 in the three months to June to 948,000, up from 923,000 in January to March.

He urged the Government to look at lessons to be learned from a welfare-to-work programme he had introduced as employment secretary back in 1998, which aimed to get long-term jobless youngsters off benefits and into employment.

The New Deal for Young People was a mandatory scheme that provided participants with a tailored package of job-searching support, subsidised employment, work experience and skills training.

A young person’s active involvement was required in order for them to continue to receive benefits.

The programme was acknowledged at the time to have had a positive impact on youth unemployment and the economy overall.

Tackled at Westminster over rising youth unemployment, work and pensions minister Baroness Sherlock said: “Too many young people are at risk of being left behind without the right skills, opportunities and support to get started in work. This government is determined to change that.”

She highlighted the launch of the Youth Guarantee scheme to help provide young people with targeted support into work and training.

Lady Sherlock added: “We do not want any young person leaving school and not being able to start at the opportunity to learn more or to work.”

Pressing the frontbencher, Lord Blunkett said: “Would she talk to her new Secretary of State, whose team might then talk to the Chancellor, about examining how we might learn from the New Deal for Young People, which was introduced in 1998?

“The number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are out of everything is not just a personal and moral challenge, but a societal and economic disaster.

“We absolutely need to make this one of the main pillars of this Government’s policy in the next three years.”

Responding, Lady Sherlock said: “He is absolutely right that this is both a scandal and a challenge for the economy.

“One of the difficulties we have nowadays is trying to work out how we reach young people if they are not engaged in society.”

She added: “I have talked to young people for whom school just did not work—they failed or were failed by school. But it is possible that they will engage in different kinds of apprenticeships or skills-based training, and that work experience might draw them back in.

“Our job is to find these young people, work out what will make the difference for them individually and give it to them.”