[holding answer 7 February 2008]: Estimates of participation in education, training and employment for those aged 16-18 are published annually by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DGSF) in a Statistical First release (SFR) each June. The most recent SFR relates to end 2006 and can be found at the following link:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000734/index.shtml
Table 1 shows the numbers and proportions of academic age 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England at end 2006.
Age 16 Age 17 Number Percentage Number Percentage Female 13,500 42 27,500 8.6 Male 29,300 8.6 35,200 10.4 Total 42,800 6.5 62,700 9.5 1 Provisional.
The DGSF does not publish estimates of those NEET above academic age 18. However, it is possible to produce estimates for 18 to 24-year-olds from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Estimates for England from the LFS, relating to the first quarter of 2007, are shown in Table 2. It is important to note that the LFS will not produce estimates that directly match those from the Department's Participation SFR, and that they will be subject to sampling error and respondent error. The LFS estimates of population size by cohort also differ from the Participation SFR. LFS estimates are also provided for young people of academic age 16-18 for comparison with the Department's estimates above.
Number Percentage Female 393,000 18.1 Male 277,000 13.1 Total 670,000 15.6