Thirteen per cent of all 16-24-year-olds in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET). This equates to nearly one million young people who are not currently learning or earning. The long-term scarring impact of being NEET for a sustained period of time on young people, society, and the economy, is well known. It is therefore of particular concern that 48% of young people in the UK are still not in education, employment or training a year after they first become NEET, equating to more than 360,000 young people likely to experience the long-term impacts of being out of work or education. A young person's previous experience of employment matters; 58% of NEET young people in the UK have never had a paid job. This briefing from Learning and Work Institute provides an overview of the scale of how many NEET young people there are in the UK, what the characteristics of NEET young people are, and the differences in opportunity between different areas of England. The research is part of wider work L&W is doing, including in partnership with Youth Futures Foundation, to inform the rollout of the Youth Guarantee. L&W's newly updated "Youth Opportunity Index" highlights that there are substantial disparities in the education and employment opportunities available to young people across England. The best-ranking local authorities are mostly in London, with Sutton coming out on top, while young people in Knowsley have the worst access to opportunities in the country. Poverty and worse opportunities for young people generally go hand in hand but some areas don't follow this trend; Hackney is ranked among the most deprived places in England but ranks 17th for youth opportunity.