-
Commission publishes evidence to the government's Milburn
review urging the panel to look beyond the national NEET
numbers with a ‘place-based' and ‘person-centric' approach.
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Evidence warns of rising regional inequality, SEND and mental
health rates causing a ‘perfect storm' that's hitting the
most vulnerable parts of society much harder.
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And Chair, Alun Francis OBE, reacts to new ONS stats on
national NEET numbers.
The national conversation on the nearly one million young people
Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs) is failing to
address the regional inequality and entrenched disadvantages
behind the stats, according to the Social Mobility
Commission.
In a submission to the government's Milburn review, the Social
Mobility Commission provided evidence that showed a ‘perfect
storm' of rising regional disparity, increasing SEND demands and
higher rates of mental health driving a surge in NEETs - but
warned those impacted by these ‘risk factors' are not
equal.
The Commission is calling for any actions from the Review panel
to be place-based solutions that build local capacity and
expertise in order to deliver sustainable change.
Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, Alun Francis OBE,
said:
“Today's ONS stats showing an increase in young NEETs must not
distract from the fact that this is a long standing problem which
has not been getting sufficient attention from policymakers. The
growth in numbers has forced it onto the policy agenda and we
urgently need to develop long term, sustainable solutions.
“Our latest State of the Nation report
showed the rate of NEETs among those of a lower socio-economic
class were more than double that for those of a professional
background. The current trends are a major obstacle for improving
social mobility and conversations are failing to address the
stark inequality behind these statistics head on.
“That's why the Social Mobility Commission is diving deeper into
the data by collecting new evidence in Blackpool through
conversations with young people to find out the stories behind
the statistics, and gain better insights into the changes that
are needed to support these individuals.”
The Commission's State of the Nation 2025 data shows national
figures risk masking deep rooted inequality: *All stats referring
to ‘NEETs' is for to 16-24 year olds in the UK
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Significant socio-economic gaps in NEET levels have remained
virtually unchanged for the past decade. The rate of NEETs
from lower working-class backgrounds is higher than any other
socio-economic group (22%), which is more than double the
rate for those from higher professional backgrounds (9%).
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Lacking a qualification above Level 1 (GCSEs at grades 1/2/3
or D/E/F/G) is a primary risk factor for becoming NEET, and
the proportion of disadvantaged pupils failing to achieve any
GCSE passes rose from 5.1% in 2020/21 to 7.5% in 2023/24.
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Need for SEN support services, another significant NEET risk
factor, has risen for children eligible for Free School Meals
(FSM) - increasing from 38% 2020/21 to 42.2% in
2023/24.
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Disability is identified in 45% of NEETs from lower working
class backgrounds, compared to 22% of those from higher
professional backgrounds.
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Among ethnic groups,people from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds face a higher risk of becoming NEET across all
ethnicities than those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds,
the impact is most severe for mixed race (25%), Black
Caribbean (25%), and White British (23%) groups — compared to
lower prevalence of 19% for their Chinese, Indian, and Black
African peers.
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More women than men have historically been NEET, but in
recent years there have generally been more men who are NEET.
However, the increase in prevalence of women who are NEET has
been higher 30.2%, compared to 23.9% for men from 2021-25.
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Economic inactivity (defined as those who are not employed
and have not been seeking work within the last four weeks) is
increasingly apparent in those who are NEETs. Those who are
economically inactive now account for the majority (61.3%) of
those who are NEET, while the unemployed make up the
remaining (38.7%).
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Sickness accounted for inactivity for 1 in 4 (25%) NEETs and
was more prevalent in men (27%) than women (23%) in 2024.
Whereas inactivity due to looking after the family home
remained higher for women (21%) than men (3%).
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Childhood conditions are a robust determinant of a young
person's risk of disengaging from education and employment.
The Commission's data aggregating parental income, education,
and occupation is mirrored in the lowest-scoring areas
consistently reporting the highest NEET rates for 16-17 year
olds.
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Declining youth employment is a worrying trend that has
continued unabated for several decades. Just over half (53%)
of young people were employed in 2025, down from over 60% in
2000.
The Commission has long challenged more ‘traditional' social
mobility approaches which have focussed on widening participation
of those from low-income backgrounds into elite professions and
universities - but in doing so, has ignored helping those more
stuck, like NEETs.
The Commission is calling for:
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A robust and clear analysis of the long term and short term
factors which have affected NEET numbers and the recent
increase.
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The establishment of local NEET partnerships, bringing
together key statutory and voluntary agencies, to bring a
local focus to NEET reduction.
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More prevention and early intervention for ‘At-risk' youth by
utilising regional data and identifying underlying risk
factors.
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Universal free public transport to young people so that the
cost of a bus, train or tram ticket isn't the reason a young
person misses an opportunity for education, employment or
training.
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Clearer paths to local employment with local leaders working
with employers, universities and further education, to break
down silos and ensure links between skills development and
local priority sectors.
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Rerouting traditional education paths with central and local
governments increasing the promotion of technical education
and vocational pathways, such as apprenticeships, in local
schools and colleges.
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Opening up career choices and ambition by encouraging
mentoring, job coaching and work experience to ease pathways
to work for young people and facilitate informed career
choices.
The lack of granular detail and data on the precise make-up,
composition, demographic and location of young NEETs has led to
ineffective one-size-fits-all policies. The Commission aims to
start closing this data gap, by undertaking hyper-local research
on NEETs in Blackpool to understand ‘how' structural drivers and
individual lived experiences compound into poor outcomes and low
social mobility prospects.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
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The Social Mobility Commission full response to the Milburn
Review can be read here.
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The Social Mobility Commission's State of the Nation report
is available here.
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Regional breakdowns and further data is available on via The
Social Mobility Commission's Data Explorer tool here:
https://social-mobility.data.gov.uk/
