The government’s interim report into the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) paints a stark picture of whole system failure.

Amidst growing concerns that nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training, a government-commissioned independent review, chaired by former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Alan Milburn, looks at the huge array of factors behind youth economic inactivity.

These include social disadvantage, poverty, cost of living and housing, geographical location, health and mental health, disability, smartphones and social media, detachment, and the long effects of Covid, with age, gender and ethnicity playing a part in the rising statistics.

Government reforms and policy churn are also cited as inadequate in addressing the increasing number of NEETs.

The report includes a chapter specifically on education, with NEETs young people saying they felt disengaged from learning and that education did not prepare them sufficiently for work or life. The report says that more effective education, curriculum and qualifications remain critical protective factors against young people becoming NEET.

The report does not yet suggest solutions. These will be covered in the final report later this year which will set out what “a whole system reset” should look like.