Borough has high rate of young jobless

WORRYING figures have revealed that Halton has some of the highest numbers of young people in the country who are neither working or in education.

And the alarming situation has prompted education experts to set up a working group to tackle the problem.

Figures released by the Department of Children, Schools and Families, show that more than one in 10 (10.1%) of 16 and 17-year-olds in the borough were not in education, employment or training (NEET).

The figure puts the borough third from bottom in the North West and tenth from bottom in the UK.

Sandwell in the West Midlands had the highest NEET figures in the UK (13.3%) with Rutland having the lowest (1.9%).

A spokesman for youth training service Connexions, said: “With Halton’s GCSE results improving dramatically this year we expect next year’s figure to fall.

“A working group made up of representatives of Halton Borough Council, Connexions, local schools, work-based learning providers, the Learning and Skills Council and Riverside College has been set up to look at further ways to help.”