Eligibility criteria for Youth Contract under review

The £1bn Youth Contract scheme is predominantly designed to get 18- to 24-year-olds into work.

But £126m funding has been designated to support 16- and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neet).

To qualify for support from that part of the initiative, young people must be afflicted by a range of factors that put them at greater risk of long-term disengagement from employment and training, and must also have no GCSEs at grades A* to C.

But professionals have warned that the criteria are too restrictive, and prevent some of the most hard to reach young people from accessing help.

Speaking at the Confederation of Heads of Young People’s Services (CHYPS) annual convention, Peter Mucklow, national director for young people at the Education Funding Agency, admitted that there were “some challenges” around the current criteria used to select young people for support.

He went on to cite Sheffield, where the CHYPS convention is taking place, as an example of where there are problems with the criteria.

“It is the fourth largest city in the country but there is a very small number of young people eligible,” he said. “Ministers have said they will keep it under review with a view to expanding it. It is an issue that is being actively looked at.”

Under the Youth Contract scheme for 16- and 17-year-olds, the government has appointed a range of approved voluntary and private sector providers to support young people across 19 regional areas.

The providers will share up to £126m funding on a payment-by-results basis over the next three years, should they successfully help young people into work or training.

The Education Funding Agency is an executive agency of the DfE.