7. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the number of school leavers not entering education, employment or training in South Wales West? OAQ51456

Well, since launching our youth engagement and progression framework in 2013, the percentage of school leavers not entering education, employment or training in South Wales West has fallen from 4 per cent to 2.3 per cent. We remain committed to the framework, investing an additional £1.1 million this year, supporting local authorities to realise further improvements all the time in this field.  

Thank you for that. You'll be aware that a recent report from the Social Mobility Commission ranked Neath Port Talbot as the worst county in Wales in terms of social mobility. Neath Port Talbot was also bottom of the pile specifically in terms of the numbers of young people within the county who are not in education, employment or training, with rates of more than three and a half times those in other counties in Wales. So, in light of all that, will you commit to introducing a targeted support package to assist Neath Port Talbot council and its partners in tackling the issue of social mobility within the county?

I think it's very concerning to see some of those figures, and I think it is important that we shine a spotlight in particular on those areas where we do need to ensure that we can improve the situation. The recent visits by local authorities are suggesting that there is generally good progress in terms of NEETs, but what we do need to do is make sure that we understand where counties are doing well and why others are not doing so well. So, sharing that valuable information is absolutely critical, and putting that best practice, I think, would be very good for the local authority to really understand what other counties are doing. Because, actually, the unemployment rates in Neath Port Talbot are very low, so it is a specific NEETs issue that does need to be addressed.

The education sector is represented on the Swansea bay city deal's shadow board by universities. A range of skills, which may, of course, capture some of the individuals that we speak about in this question, will be needed in the workforce if the deal is to reach as many communities as possible, which raises the question of the role of further education colleges in the deal. They need to be able to support the aspirations of the deal by planning their courses, of course. On behalf of Welsh Government, would you make enquiries of the shadow board to establish how FE colleges across the deal's footprint can contribute to and benefit from those aspirations, but with particular focus on those who are not currently attracted to further education or training, but where we might actually see some opportunities with the deal?

Thank you. One of the things that I'm keen to do in the employability action plan is to make sure that we link into this new regional approach. So, what we heard yesterday from the economic Secretary in terms of, 'Right. This is the priority. We're going to regionalise'—we know that there is a programme of economic development, and, of course, the skills now have to marry that programme. So, I know that the further education bodies are involved in the city deals already, but we do need to make sure that they are providing the right skills for the kinds of economic developments that we are seeking to deliver in those deals.