A NEET round up

In the wake of the initial uncertainty of Election 2010, the Government found its feet quickly and is now taking forward its Coalition agenda. 

The Government’s Big Society is at the top of ministers’ priority lists and is now being implemented across Whitehall. At its heart is streamlining unnecessary Government processes, using the third sector more and volunteering far more.

Key ministers to deliver on this agenda are Francis Maude at the Cabinet Office and Nat Wei who is the new Baron Wei of Shoreditch and the Government’s Big Society adviser. 

Government policy specifically on the NEET issue is less clear and remains, at present, in need of cross Government co-ordination. Two vital Cabinet members for taking forward the NEET agenda will be Michael Gove at the newly re-named Department of Education and Iain Duncan Smith at the Department of Work and Pensions.

So far Michael Gove’s department is consulting on the pupil premium, a vital policy focused on supporting the most disadvantaged young people at school while Iain Duncan Smith’s department is hard at work streamlining the current benefit and welfare to work system.  Its flagship Work Programme will create a single, personalized system to help all those back into work using both the third and private sector as much as possible. 

In No. 10, David Cameron is taking forward his commitment to a National Citizen Service by quickly opening up the bidding process so the scheme can be rapidly scaled up so as many young people as possible can take part in this summer service scheme for 16 year olds.  

But, this summer young people face an extremely tough jobs market as cuts affect public sector recruitment and new government programmes need time to bed in. Recent IPPR/PEF analysis shows that there has been a 40% rise in the risk of young people with A Levels becoming NEET and 36% of young people who leave school without qualifications are NEET. At the same time it has also been an incredibly difficult time for charities as government funding has seized up ahead of the Comprehensive Spending review in October.  For example, as yet it is unclear whether the dormant bank accounts, now called the Big Society Bank, will be focused on youth services as originally agreed by the previous Government. 

Furthermore, as part of the Big Society, Government wants to increase philanthropy in the UK. Given this agenda and the importance of supporting our future generation of young people, PEF is in a unique position to share its experience of collective giving, including not just money but also volunteer time, to tackle the complex social issue of our disengaged and disadvantaged youth.

PEF 2010 Conference

With an overall cost to the public purse of £35 billion, the UK can ill afford the high costs involved in supporting NEET young people. Therefore, it is all the more important that we intervene before it’s too late.  On 16 September policy makers and practitioners will come together at the PEF 2010 Conference to discuss this timely issue and take forward PEF’s report on tackling disengagement and supporting early intervention.  PEF commissioned Demos to undertake this report earlier this year.