Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and conservative modernisers, welcomes the decline in the number of young people (aged 16 to 24) in the UK who were not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Commenting on today's ONS figures, James Dobson, researcher at Bright Blue, said:

"This continuing decline in the proportion of young people who are NEETs demonstrates the effectiveness of recent government policy, particularly the requirement for young people to stay in education or training until the age of 18.

“To continue to reduce the number of NEETs, the Government needs to ensure all young people experience a high-quality academic education until at least the age of 16. To thrive in the modern labour market, all young people should not leave school until they have achieved the expected minimum in GCSE English and Maths.”