UK 'must do more for jobless young people'
Local councils call for more help for young people out of work
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By Adam Leveridge
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Thursday, 22, Oct 2009 12:42
Young people must be helped into work or training, council leaders have warned today.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 350 councils in England, wants "radical reforms" to the way public money is spent on the issue.
The council leaders say despite £5.5 billion a year being spent on benefits and grants, Britain has one of the highest rates of teenagers and young adults out of work or education compared with other modern economies.
A study unveiled by the LGA alongside the Centre for Social Justice, says too many young people aged between 16 and 24 are left out of work or education.
Councillor Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, said: "As a former teacher I know how it feels to look out at each expectant face in a new class at the start of term and know that, for some of our young people, that is what the future holds.
"To have nearly a million of our young people not in any form of education or work is a deeply worrying waste of talent. That's nearly a million young people stuck in a rut, not able to get on and do something with their lives and not contributing to the economy."
Today's report, based on the experience of councils and voluntary bodies, recommends councils determines who gets Education Maintenance Allowances (which costs the government £549 million a year) and decide benefit rules for under-25s in a local area in order to bring hundreds of thousands more young people into the world of work. It adds that the money must reach those for whom it will make the greatest difference.
The recommendations from the report also include abolishing the term NEET (not in employment, education or training) to avoid stigmatising young people in that position.
"Young people have been hit particularly hard by the recession. They have difficulty getting their foot on the career ladder at a time when companies aren't recruiting and they can be the first to go when cuts are made," added Ms Eaton.
"It is not good enough to have our children grow up in a world where their potential is wasted by a system which doesn't give them the right support at the right times. Local government has the ideas to put that right, now we need the powers to make that happen."