Story perspectives

NEETs fall to 981,000 as placements expand nationally

8/27/2026

Summary

Tees Valley Reopens

Tees Valley Combined Authority reopened Youth Guarantee Trailblazer, offering paid placements up to five months for 18-21-year-olds.
Sainsbury’s KickStarter programme will deliver 10,000 modern work-experience placements targeting schools with high free-school-meal uptake.
REC and Maximus partnered on the Restart Scheme, securing over 4,000 placements.
The partnership won the WEC Leadership prize.
Birmingham Chambers of Commerce urged the Autumn Budget to cut employer National Insurance for under-25s to expand placements.

Summary

McFadden Pledges Jobs

Office for National Statistics reported 981,000 NEETs in April-June 2026, dropping below one million.
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden cited a £2.5 billion Jobs Guarantee to create a million jobs by 2029.
Former Labour minister Alan Milburn warned NEET numbers could hit 1.25 million by 2031, creating a lost generation.
Work Foundation survey found 36% of employers cut entry-level jobs.
Work Foundation survey reported 73% of employers label NEET issue a national crisis.

History

Historical Context

Labour introduced the New Deal for Young People in 1998, funded by a £5 billion windfall tax and overseen by economist Richard Layard, to train 18-24-year-olds. The programme received £3.15 billion by 2002, but the Conservative-led coalition renamed it the Flexible New Deal in October 2009 and ended it in October 2010, replacing it with the Single Work Programme.

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Tees Valley Reopens

Tees Valley Combined Authority reopened Youth Guarantee Trailblazer, offering paid placements up to five months for 18-21-year-olds.
Sainsbury’s KickStarter programme will deliver 10,000 modern work-experience placements targeting schools with high free-school-meal uptake.
REC and Maximus partnered on the Restart Scheme, securing over 4,000 placements.
The partnership won the WEC Leadership prize.
Birmingham Chambers of Commerce urged the Autumn Budget to cut employer National Insurance for under-25s to expand placements.

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