Education Secretary Writes to Councils Over Phantom NEETs Data Gaps

Key Points

• The Department for Education (DfE) has revealed that 32,100 “Phantom NEETs” — 16- and 17-year-olds whose education, employment or training status is unknown to their local council — have been identified across England.
• Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is writing to every council in England setting out expectations for improving how at-risk teenagers are tracked.
• A separate, tougher letter is being sent to 26 councils with the greatest data gaps, ordering them to agree improvement plans within six months.
• North Lincolnshire Council reported it had no information on nearly half of its 16- and 17-year-olds, while participation rates elsewhere range from 71.8% to 94.2%.
• A new “Risk of NEET Indicator” will use school attendance, special educational needs data and care history to flag teenagers who may need early support.
• Official figures show an estimated 57,000 16- and 17-year-olds are classed as NEET, while the wider number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are NEET has topped one million for the first time.
• The announcement follows a government-commissioned review led by Alan Milburn, which warned the NEET rate could rise from one in eight to one in six young people without intervention.
• Ministers say the initiative sits within a £2.5 billion package of youth employment reforms, including a new Jobs Guarantee and incentives for small businesses to hire young apprentices.

Westminster (Britain Today News) July 02, 2026 — The Education Secretary has written to councils across England demanding urgent improvements in how they track vulnerable teenagers, after new government data uncovered 32,100 so-called “Phantom NEETs” — young people whose education, employment or training status is entirely unknown to the local authorities meant to be monitoring them.

What Are ‘Phantom NEETs’ and Why Has the Term Emerged?

The phrase “Phantom NEETs” has been coined by the Department for Education to describe 16- and 17-year-olds who fall into a data blind spot. Unlike young people formally classified as NEET — not in education, employment or training — these teenagers cannot be confirmed as being in any form of provision at all, because councils simply do not know where they are or what they are doing.

According to figures published by the Department for Education, 32,100 young people across the country currently fall into this category. The department has stressed that this is not a new problem, but one that has been exposed more starkly by improved efforts to reconcile local data with national participation records.

Official statistics show that overall participation in education, employment and training among 16- and 17-year-olds ranges dramatically depending on where a young person lives, from as low as 71.8% in some areas to as high as 94.2% in others — a gap ministers have described as a “postcode lottery” in youth support.

How Many Young People Are Affected Across England?

Separate to the Phantom NEETs figure, official statistics published earlier this year estimate that around 57,000 16- and 17-year-olds in England are classified as NEET. This sits within a much larger and increasingly urgent picture: the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are NEET has now surpassed one million for the first time, according to the latest labour market figures.

The scale of the challenge was underlined by a government-commissioned review led by Alan Milburn, the former Health Secretary, who was asked to examine the drivers behind rising youth economic inactivity, with a particular focus on young people with health conditions and disabilities. His interim findings warned that without further action, the current NEET rate of roughly one in eight young people could climb to one in six. Milburn also flagged what he described as a “stark post-18 cliff edge” in tracking and support once young people move beyond the 16-17 age bracket covered by today’s announcement.

Which Councils Have the Worst Data Gaps?

The data reveals enormous variation in how well individual councils are tracking their teenage populations. North Lincolnshire Council reported that it held no information on almost half of its 16- and 17-year-olds, one of the most significant gaps recorded anywhere in the country. Peterborough’s figures, meanwhile, were suppressed in the published data because complete returns were unavailable.

By contrast, only a small number of councils were able to account for every single young person in their area. Among those praised for having the most complete data were Redcar and Cleveland and the City of London, both of which recorded full or near-full awareness of the education, employment and training status of their 16- and 17-year-olds.

The Department for Education has said it has been asked to name the full list of the 26 councils that will receive the more demanding improvement letters, though these have not yet been formally published.

What Has Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson Said?

Announcing the measures, Bridget Phillipson set out why she believes accurate tracking of teenagers is essential rather than an administrative formality. In a statement issued by the Department for Education, she said:

“Accurate, timely tracking is not a box-ticking exercise, it’s the difference between a young person getting support early or falling through the cracks entirely. While local authorities do incredibly difficult work, often against real constraints, it’s not consistent enough.”

Phillipson added that the government intends to work alongside councils rather than simply penalise them for poor data, framing the intervention as part of a broader package of support. She said:

“We’re supporting councils to intervene early to help, as part of our new deal for young people, to ensure they realise their potential through worthwhile training and stable careers.”

The Department for Education has acknowledged that councils face genuine operational difficulties in maintaining this data, including poor data-sharing arrangements between schools, colleges and local authorities, staff pressures, and delays in receiving information about individual pupils once they leave compulsory education.

What Is the New ‘Risk of NEET Indicator’ and How Will It Work?

Central to the government’s response is a new tool known as the Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI). The system is designed to flag teenagers who may be at risk of becoming NEET before they fall out of contact with education or training altogether, rather than waiting until they have already disappeared from the system.

The indicator will draw on a combination of data sources, including school attendance records, special educational needs status, and whether a young person has a care history. By combining these datasets, the Department for Education says councils and schools will be better placed to identify vulnerable teenagers early and target support before a crisis point is reached.

Alongside the new indicator, the department is issuing fresh guidance for schools and colleges, intended to standardise how at-risk young people are identified and referred for support, addressing what ministers have described as inconsistent practice across different parts of the country.

Why Was This Investigation Needed?

The push for better data follows an investigation earlier this year which found that a significant number of councils held no record of whether tens of thousands of school leavers — estimated at around 44,000 — had received an appropriate offer of a place in education or training under the so-called “September guarantee” policy, which is meant to ensure every 16- and 17-year-old has access to a suitable place. Councils cited poor data sharing, staff pressures and delays in receiving information from schools and colleges as key reasons for the shortfall.

Which 26 Councils Face Improvement Plans?

Under the new measures, the 26 councils identified as facing the greatest challenges — defined as those unable to account for the activities of 3% or more of their 16- and 17-year-old population — will receive a separate, more direct letter from the Education Secretary. These councils will be required to draw up formal improvement plans within the next six months.

The Department for Education has said these councils will not be left to address the problem alone. New tools and guidance, including access to the Risk of NEET Indicator, will be made available to support the improvement process, alongside closer central government oversight of progress over the coming months.

Every other council in England, regardless of how complete their current data is, will also receive a letter from the Education Secretary setting out general expectations for improving how at-risk young people are tracked and supported, indicating that ministers regard this as a system-wide issue rather than one confined to the worst-performing areas.

Why Does Accurate NEET Tracking Matter for Young People?

Behind the statistics lies a straightforward concern for ministers: young people who disappear from official records are far harder to help. If a council does not know that a teenager has left college, dropped out of an apprenticeship, or never taken up a place they were entitled to, there is no mechanism to intervene before that young person drifts further from education, training or the jobs market.

The Department for Education has framed the initiative as an early-intervention measure, arguing that identifying at-risk teenagers sooner reduces the likelihood of them becoming part of the wider NEET population in later years, with all the associated risks to long-term earnings, mental health and social outcomes that extended periods out of education or work can bring.
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How Does This Fit Into the Wider Youth Unemployment Crisis?

Today’s announcement comes against the backdrop of a deepening national concern over youth unemployment. The overall number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are NEET across the UK has now topped one million, a figure that has intensified politics pressure on the government to demonstrate it is taking meaningful action.

While the current package of measures focuses specifically on 16- and 17-year-olds, the Milburn review has already warned that support and tracking become significantly weaker once young people turn 18, describing this transition as a particular point of vulnerability. This suggests today’s measures may represent an initial phase of a broader strategy addressing NEET rates across the full 16-24 age range in future.

What Other Reforms Is the Government Introducing to Tackle NEET Numbers?

The Phantom NEETs initiative sits within a much larger programme of youth employment reform. The Department for Education has described this as the biggest overhaul of youth employment support in a generation, backed by £2.5 billion in funding, intended to support almost one million young people and help create up to 500,000 opportunities to “earn and learn.”

Among the specific measures being introduced:

• A new £2,000 incentive for small businesses that take on a 16- to 24-year-old apprentice, aimed at removing financial barriers for employers offering life-changing training opportunities.
• From autumn 2026, an expansion of the Jobs Guarantee to all eligible 18- to 24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit and have been seeking work for 18 months. Those on the scheme will receive 25 hours a week of fully subsidised, six-month paid work, paid at the relevant minimum wage, alongside fully funded wraparound support.
• A pilot scheme for automatic enrolment into further education for young people who do not have a confirmed place, designed to close the gap between school leaving and the start of further study or training.

What Happens Next for Councils and Schools?

Councils across England can now expect to receive formal correspondence from the Department for Education, with the 26 highest-priority authorities required to begin drawing up improvement plans over the coming six months. The Department has indicated it will monitor progress closely, with new data tools, including the Risk of NEET Indicator, being rolled out to support local authorities as they implement changes.

Schools and colleges are also expected to adjust their own referral and reporting practices in line with the fresh guidance issued alongside the announcement, as ministers seek to close the inconsistencies that have allowed tens of thousands of teenagers to fall outside official tracking systems.

For now, the immediate test will be whether councils — many of which have cited resourcing and data-sharing difficulties rather than a lack of will — are able to translate central government guidance and funding into a genuine improvement in how vulnerable young people are identified, supported and kept in education, training or employment over the months ahead.