Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

NEET Young People

Monday 17 March 2025 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 5 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions addressed issues faced by NEET young people in the UK.
  • Questions raised concerns about young people struggling to find work after completing T-levels and the role of charities in supporting youth employment.
  • Concerns were expressed about the rise in young people becoming NEET due to mental health issues, with numbers increasing by over 25% in the last year.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Amanda Martin Lab Portsmouth North
Employment Children & Families
Context

Amanda Martin highlights the issue of NEETs in her constituency and mentions a constituent who has struggled to find work after completing an early years education T-level.

Question

Each of those 1 million people is a real person, and I was contacted by a young man in my constituency who studied an early years education T-level and wanted to enter a desperately understaffed profession but has been struggling ever since to access a starter job. Being out of work while young can have a scarring effect that impacts people’s job prospects for a lifetime. Will the Secretary of State work to identify people at risk of becoming NEET and ensure that my constituents are supported to find meaningful work?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. Her constituent deserves to fulfil his potential and live his hopes and dreams, like everybody else. We will be working hard with the Department for Education to identify those young people who are at risk of becoming NEET, to ensure that we put in place the skills training they need to get the jobs of the future and fulfil their potential, as they deserve.

Answered
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Q2 Emma Foody Labour (Co-op) Cramlington and Killingworth
Employment Children & Families
Context

Emma Foody visited Azure, a charity in her constituency that provides learning and work opportunities, especially for young people with learning disabilities.

Question

I recently visited Azure, a charity in my constituency that provides learning and work opportunities, especially for young people with learning disabilities, and heard about the incredible work it does to provide young people with hands-on experience in a hospitality-based learning environment. Will the Secretary of State detail what more the Government can do to support charities such as Azure to provide these vital opportunities?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)

I congratulate Azure on its brilliant work. I believe that charities and voluntary organisations have an essential role in getting people on the pathway to work and success. I know from the supported internship programmes that have been run in my constituency, including through my local hospital, that young people with learning difficulties can, with the right support, get those jobs and get that work. That is what this Government want to deliver.

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Q3 Chris Curtis Lab Milton Keynes North
Employment Mental Health
Context

Chris Curtis is concerned about the rising number of young people in Milton Keynes who are out of work due to mental health issues.

Question

I am increasingly concerned by the rising number of young people in Milton Keynes who are out of work due to mental health issues, which I think is a key factor behind the nearly 12% increase in young people claiming unemployment benefits in Milton Keynes since 2024. Can the Secretary of State outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure that these young people have the support and opportunities they need to continue to improve their health, secure stable employment and live independently with better living standards?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)

I share my hon. Friend’s concerns about the number of young people not in work due to mental health conditions, which has increased by over 25% in the last year alone. The number of young people who are economically inactive due to poor mental health now stands at 270,000. That is why we are focusing on early intervention, providing mental health support in every school and recruiting an extra 8,500 more mental health staff, and from April we will be launching our youth guarantee and trailblazers to ensure that every young person is earning or learning.

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Q4 Baggy Shanker Labour (Co-op) Derby South
Children & Families
Context

Baggy Shanker mentions the Derby Promise, a local initiative bringing together businesses and organisations to give children meaningful experiences.

Question

The Derby Promise recognises that children and young people are the future of Derby by bringing together businesses and organisations across our great city to give children meaningful, aspirational experiences, whether at iconic factories, or cultural or sports venues. We know, however, that children already face limits on their future career aspirations by the age of seven. Will the Minister outline what work her Department is undertaking to support children in Derby and across the UK from an early age to raise their future career aspirations? Will she also agree to visit Derby to see the Derby Promise in action?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)

I or one of my team will definitely visit the Derby Promise. I share my hon. Friend’s concern that young people are ruling out future careers at a young age. I met with the Careers and Enterprise Company on Friday, and they told me that children are ruling out careers by their gender at age seven and by their class by age nine. For the Labour party, that is not good enough. I hope the Derby Promise will be involved in the youth guarantee in the east midlands, led by the mayor, Claire Ward, because we have to unlock the potential of every young person if they and this country are to succeed.

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Q5 Jess Brown-Fuller Lib Dem Chichester
Education Employment
Context

Young people with learning difficulties in Chichester are struggling to find work. TOC, a charity that provides work experience for young people with learning disabilities aged 18 to 35, is about to open its own café and centre.

Question

Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating Together Our Community (TOC), which provides work experience for young people with learning disabilities? TOC is about to open its own café and centre. Will the Secretary of State outline what support is available for such charities and join me at its opening next month?

Answer from Liz Kendall (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions)

I join the hon. Lady in congratulating TOC; it sounds like it is doing fantastic work. On Friday, I was talking to the headteacher of a special needs school near my constituency, who was saying we absolutely have to ensure that work experience, careers advice and working with voluntary groups are all part of the package of support we put in place. If possible, I or one of my colleagues will certainly come and see the work that TOC is doing, because charities and voluntary groups are absolutely critical to this Government’s plans.

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Q6 Helen Whately Con Faversham and Mid Kent
Employment Mental Health
Context

The number of young people not in education, employment or training has increased since Labour took office.

Question

Since the right hon. Lady’s party has been in government, 100,000 more young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET). How is this possible?

Answer from Liz Kendall

The hon. Lady had 14 years to solve the problem and the Conservatives’ record is clear: nearly 1 million young people not in education, employment or training, which is one in eight of all our young people; and the number of young people with mental health concerns who are out of work has now reached 270,000. That is the legacy of 14 years of Conservative government, and it is a legacy that this Government are determined to change.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not address why there are more NEETs since Labour took office but instead criticized the previous Conservative government's record on youth unemployment.

How: Criticizing The Opposition

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