Responding to the latest unemployment figures showing the number of 16 – 24 year olds out of work is higher than at any point since records began in 1992, Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:
“Nobody wants our children to grow up in a world where their potential is wasted by a system which doesn’t give them the right support at the right times.
"Government departments, national agencies, voluntary organisations and local authorities all work to different targets and agendas, and that can muddy the water and prevent a coherent approach to dealing with the issue of young people who aren’t working or getting any form of training.
“In these tight times all public money has to work as hard as possible. The billions of pounds being paid out each year in benefits is simply money down the drain if ways aren’t found of using that money to help people change their lives for the better. Very few people want to depend on benefits to support their families or put food on the table, but the current system can sometimes work against them.
“Councils know where the work opportunities are, and they know what barriers prevent teenagers and young adults reaching their full potential in their local areas. Local government has the ideas to put that right, now we need the powers to make that happen.”