GOVERNMENT ADMITS 32,100 TEENAGERS UNACCOUNTED FOR IN ENGLAND

The government has acknowledged that councils across England lack information on the whereabouts of 32,100 young people aged 16 to 17 who are not in education, employment or training. Ministers have urged councils and schools to improve how they identify and support teenagers at risk of dropping out of work or training. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, announced that she is writing to all councils demanding improvements to identification and support systems for young people at risk of becoming what the government terms "phantom Neets".

Official figures show that only four councils in England have complete information on the whereabouts of 16- to 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training within their areas. Data quality varies significantly across the country, creating what ministers describe as a "stark postcode lottery" for vulnerable young people. North Lincolnshire council was identified as missing information for nearly half of its 16- and 17-year-olds. Research from the Resolution Foundation thinktank showed variations in data collection, with more than one in five young people in Dudley, West Midlands, having fallen off local authority records, compared with fewer than one in 50 in London boroughs including Barnet and Ealing.

The government is publishing new guidance for schools and colleges to help teachers identify pupils most likely to drop out. Phillipson is writing separately to 26 councils facing the greatest challenges, with expectations for improvement plans to be agreed within six months, supported by new tools and government guidance. This action follows a report published in May by former health secretary Alan Milburn warning that Britain risked creating a "lost generation" of young people amid rising numbers of those not in education, employment or training.