Not in education, employment or training (NEET)

16 to 17 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET)

Performance data is collected in respect of young people aged 16 to 17 years not in education, employment or training (NEET).  The most recent information that we have is for the county (Lancashire-12) as a whole and its 12 constituent districts for the period between December 2023 and February 2024.

Please note that Lancashire's counting methodology changed in September 2016. Before then, all 16-18 year olds were counted, however since September 2016, only 16-17 year olds have been counted.

Key points for the Lancashire-12 area, December 2023 to February 2024

• 907 young people in Lancashire-12 were categorised as NEET. The Lancashire-12 rate of 3.1% was lower than the regional rate of 4.1%, the national rate of 3.2% and the respective neighbouring authority rates (4.0% in Blackburn with Darwen and 7.0% in Blackpool) were in 2023/24.
• Within Lancashire-12, the percentage of 16-17 year olds who are NEET varies between districts, from 1.2% in Ribble Valley to 3.8% in South Ribble.
• In 2023/24, the proportion of NEET in Lancashire-12 increased by 0.5 percentage points. The districts with the largest increases were Chorley, Preston and South Ribble. The proportions of NEET rose by 1.2 pp in Chorley and 1.1 pp in South Ribble.
• NEET numbers decreased only in Lancaster (down 3 (-0.3 pp)), Ribble Valley (down 2 (-0.1 pp)) and in Hyndburn.
• The percentage (94.2%) and number (27,457) of young people in education, employment or training (EET) remained stable in Lancashire-12 overall. The proportion of EET rose in three of the Lancashire-12 districts, with percentages ranging from 93.1% in Hyndburn to 97.1% in Ribble Valley.
• The percentage of instances where it was not known whether young people were involved in education, employment or training remained the same in Lancashire-12 in 2022/23 at 2.7%. Lancashire-12 saw increases in seven of its districts, the highest being in Hyndburn with a 0.8 pp increase and the smallest being in West Lancashire and Wyre with 0.2 pp increases. The rest of Lancashire-12 saw decreases, with the highest decrease being in Fylde, seeing a -1.4 pp fall.

The Department for Education website provides statistics on young persons aged 16- and 17-year-old who are NEET. Local data has been provided by the Child and Family Well-being Service (Young People's Service) for recent years. 

Children and young people dashboard 

The children and young people dashboard created as part of the Neighbourhood JSNA, now includes district and ward level data for KS2/ KS4/ Pupil Absence/ Exclusions/ NEET. This resource can be accessed here.

 Page updated 30 May 2024