Current status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) also report as having a work-limiting health condition.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators for more detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training who also report having a work-limiting health condition from this source.
Scotland’s Census 2022 results show that, excluding full-time students, there were around 23,600 people aged 16 to 24 in Scotland who were unemployed or economically inactive and had a disability or health problem that limited their day-to-day activities a lot or a little.
The Annual Participation Measure published by Skills Development Scotland provides estimates for 16 to 19 year olds not participating in education, employment or training by disability status. In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that 8,910 people aged 16 to 19 years old in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training (3.9% of 16 to 19 year olds). Of those who were not participating in education, employment or training, 11.1% (985 people) were identified as being disabled.