A £3.5million effort to reduce the number of Lancashire young people not in education, training or employment is paying dividends, county councillors have been told.

In September 2011 the authority embarked on a three-year programme, backed by the European Social Fund, to tackle the issue of so-called ‘Neets’.

And partway through the exercise, new figures show the various support and assistance given to young people has led to three out of four targets being met and surpassed.

So far 980 young people have enrolled on the scheme, set against a target of 775, and 238 ‘vulnerable’ candidates, such as young mums and young offenders, have been involved, an improvement on the anticipated rate of 181.

To date 281 have progressed to secure training, employment or educational placements, when 255 was anticipated.

Only the rate of people obtaining an accredited qualification is ‘slightly behind’ at 288, opposed to a target of 333.

The total number of young people classed as ‘Neet’ in September 2011 was 2,295 and now it is said to be around 2,080.