Councils are being warned to properly track the activity of 16-18 year olds, after new figures revealed some councils have no information about their teenage population.
Skills minister, Matthew Hancock, has written to 12 local authorities who are failing to track what education or training teenagers are involved in.
While new statistics show 88% of 16-17 year olds are in education or training - an increase of 1% from last year - up to 22% of activity is unknown by councils.
Mr Hancock said: ‘We are determined to do everything we can to tackle the problem of youth unemployment and this starts by identifying our young people who are NEET.
‘These new figures show a worrying variation in how well councils track participation in education and training among 16- and 17-year-olds.
‘Some are performing superbly while others are falling behind.
‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure, so I have written to authorities we have particular concerns about to remind them of their duty to collect this crucial information.’
The figures show that in Poole, the activity of 16-18 year-olds is unknown, while in Oxfordshire and Birmingham it is a quarter. In Waltham Forest the council does not know what a fifth of 16- to 18-year-olds are doing.
Unions have criticised the Government this year for its 'slow progress' on supporting NEETs.
