Current status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many 18- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are not in receipt of out-of-work benefits, including what reasons they give for their NEET status.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators 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 18 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training and not receiving out-of-work benefits from this source.
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 age and reason for not participating. In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that 6,758 people aged 18 to 19 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training. The status for those not participating in education, employment or training are included in Table 1.1b: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/appbneac/2025-annual-participation-measure-supplementary-tables.xlsx.