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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

True cost of education

Failure to put teenagers on the right track at school or college costs the public purse £814m each year – equivalent to £1 in every £8 spent by the Government on post-16 education and skills, research has shown.

Failure to put teenagers on the right track at school or college costs the public purse £814m each year – equivalent to £1 in every £8 spent by the Government on post-16 education and skills, research has shown.

A Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion study undertaken for the Local Government Association finds 178,100 16-18-year-olds dropped out of courses they began in 2012/13 and are at risk of becoming not in employment, education or training (NEET).

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Getting the LGA fighting fit

By Heather Jameson | 07 July 2026

New Local Government Association chair Eamonn O’Brien tells Heather Jameson that councils must seize the opportunity to reshape public services, tackle long-...

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Education secretary writes to councils over 'phantom NEETs'

By William Eichler | 02 July 2026

Councils across England have been put on notice by education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who is writing to every local authority setting out expectations f...

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Food security: National challenge, local solution

By David Godfrey | 02 July 2026

With the international crisis in the Gulf just the latest of threats to UK food security, Carol Ford and David Godfrey describe how Kent’s food sector has fo...

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Burnham's devolution mission

By Martin Ford | 30 June 2026

Poised to enter No10, Andy Burnham has put devolution firmly at the centre of his leadership pitch in his first speech since entering what may be a one-horse...