10. Young People Not in Employment Education or Training—NumbersJENNY SALESA (Labour—Manukau East) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and EmploymentYoung People Not in Employment Education or Training—Numbers10. JENNY SALESA (Labour—Manukau East) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment: What is the total number of 15 to 24-year-olds not in employment education or training according to the Household Labour Force Survey released yesterday and is this an increase or a decrease on the last quarter?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment: Yesterday's household labour force survey showed that the number of 15- to 24-year-olds not in employment education or training (neets") increased by 3000 to 74000 largely driven by those aged 20 to 24. As the member will see from recent quarterly figures these numbers move around a lot. For instance in the previous quarter—when the member did not ask a question—the number of "neets" had dropped by 11000 which was probably a few too many actually. In this quarter it has bounced back a bit. The Government has a large number of initiatives aimed at this group which are increasingly successful.Jenny Salesa: Why are 15 percent of all 20- to 24-year-olds in New Zealand not in education employment or training—which is 11000 more than in 2008?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I can assure the member that the Government asks the question about what each one of these people are doing particularly if they are on welfare. As the member will know there is a wide range of circumstances but increasingly the Government's programmes are tailored to local needs. For instance there are parts of New Zealand where that rate is considerably above average and we need to tailor our initiatives for instance through our regional growth programmes where people with local understanding of industry and job opportunities and of this population of young people can come up with sustainable solutions.Jenny Salesa: Why has the number of 15- to 24-year-olds in Wellington who are not in education employment or training gone up by 75 percent on his Government's watch?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am not sure what starting point the member is using but I can advise her that in Wellington the Youth Guarantee and the trades academies have been introduced creating better and clearer pathways for young people into work. Also we are now growing opportunities like the Ara hub in Auckland which is taking the lessons from Christchurch where we develop better methods of connecting young people to job opportunities and transforming those to Auckland. The Government has an increasingly fine-grained view of all these young people and has every motivation to ensure that where possible they are connected to job opportunities because that means that they can avoid what could be a lifetime of dependency.Jenny Salesa: Why has the number of Pasifika youth not in education employment or training increased by 20 percent under this Government?Hon BILL ENGLISH: This is related to the previous question. One reason would be that in 2009-10 there was a significant recession so the numbers rose fairly dramatically through to 2011 and since then they have been declining. But I am happy to say to the member and to anyone who is listening: the Government is always keen to hear about more and better solutions for young people who are "neets". I am guessing that this week the Labour Party will announce some sweeping sloganeering about young people in work all of which has been tried before and most of which would fail if it tried to implement it.Jenny Salesa: Why did the Deputy Prime Minister label our young people as "pretty damned hopeless" and why did the Prime Minister write off our young people as "lazy and on drugs"?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The member is not correctly quoting what the Deputy Prime Minister said but the member can be reassured that the Government and its agencies—in fact many communities and parents—are making every effort. Of course this group has a wide range of needs. One cannot generalise. A significant proportion for instance are caregivers within their own families and of course the choices for them are different from those who for instance have a significant disability. Their choices are different from those who are simply taking a year off—that is not doing anything—and they may of course just rejoin the workforce—Mr SPEAKER: Bring the answer to a conclusion.Hon BILL ENGLISH: —when they feel like it and when there is an opportunity.Mr SPEAKER: Question No. 11. [Interruption] Order! I am just trying to get the member a fair hearing."