Daily roundup: Neets statistics, primary school places and measles on the rise

The number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training (Neet) increased by 19,000 between the first and second quarters of 2012, the latest official statistics have shown. The data also shows that the proportion of 16- to 18-year-olds who were Neet increased from 9.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 to 10.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2012.

Brent council has agreed a plan to create thousands of new primary school places. The plan has been drawn up to tackle soaring demand for places, caused by rising birth rates and migration into the area. The council's executive committee has agreed a programme to create 630 reception places by September 2016 and an extra 4,410 permanent primary places eventually. George Crane, lead member for regeneration and major projects, said: "This massive and unprecedented programme of investment will help us meet the huge demand we are facing.”

A rise in cases of measles in Birmingham is being blamed on a failure to immunise children in the traveller community, the Birmingham Mail reports. Cases in the West Midlands have gone up from 14 in 2010 to 40 last year, while this year’s total looks likely to exceed the previous totals, with 32 confirmed cases in the first six months of 2012. Dr Husam Osman, consultant virologist at the Health Protection Agency, said: “Many of the cases I have been seeing are children from the traveller community. This is because they are not registered with a GP.”