Daily roundup 20 November: Neets, Kids Company, and social work skills

The number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) has fallen by more than 100,000 in the past year. Government statistics reveal that a total of 11.7 per cent of young people were Neet in the three months to September this year, down by 1.3 per cent a year earlier.


The Cabinet Office minister who authorised a £3m grant to Kids Company days before the charity collapsed has denied being blackmailed into giving it the money. The Guardian reports that Oliver Letwin, who also authorised a grant of £4.2m to the charity earlier in the year, said he had no reason to believe the charity's financial governance was in trouble.


The government has published a response to its consultation on knowledge and skills for social work practice leaders and practice supervisors. It states that policy guidance will include consultation on whether accreditation should become mandatory.


Further cuts to public health budgets will lead to a collapse of public health, the Unite union has warned. It says further "draconian" cuts will lead to local authorities facing financial meltdown.


Teenagers who continually check their phones skip sleep and fail to do homework, according to a study of more than 400 secondary school pupils. The Mirror reports that compulsive texting can lead teenagers to lie about the amount of time they spend texting and find it difficult to stop, which the study likens to the behaviour of a gambler.


A teenager has been arrested after stabbing two 15-year-old boys in an academy school in South East London. The Evening Standard reports that one of the victims is in a critical condition in hospital, while the other is in a stable condition, and that a teenager has been arrested in connection with the incident.