by Erica Young, CAS spokesperson on Social Justice.

This article was first published in The Herald on 11 July 2026.

Alan Milburn’s recent work highlighting the plight of young people who are NEET (not in Employment, Education or Training) resonated strongly in Scotland. Many are viewing jigsaw pieces of support and wondering how they fit together into a complete frame that pictures their needs. It's unclear what goes where and many young people are left without the help that they should be able to rely on.  

Our advisers work with tremendous empathy and persistence to deliver advice that changes lives. Many young people seek our help because they’re struggling to afford the essentials - nearly one in five (18%) advised by our network last year were supported to access charitable support, mostly foodbanks.    

Low income can have a profound impact on the mental and physical health of young people, and on their ability to envisage and work towards future goals. We see this, for example, in young lone parents masking significant mental health challenges while raising children on limited budgets. Or, in single young men experiencing social isolation,  ensnared in a cycle of falling income and deteriorating health.    

Scotland has unique challenges that impact young people trying to get a foot in the door. For example, in rural parts of the country, such as Aberdeenshire, CAB advisers report incidences of young people leaving education due a lack of reliable, adequately connected public transport.    

The barriers that young people are facing are not just practical but can include deeply rooted and less tangible problems, like low confidence and limited social networks. What many young people have in common is stress that is perpetual and habituated.  

For some young people in crisis, the cumulative impact of a lack of consistent and sustained investment in them has undermined trust and reduced their sense of agency. Consequently, for young men like Scott, the level of support required is multi-faceted, intensive and long-term.  

Scott initially attended his local CAB for housing advice, but soon opened up about a difficult childhood that had left him struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. At twenty years old he had become homeless, sleeping in his car. Due to his mental health, shared temporary accommodation is unsuitable. He tried shift work, but the instability of his circumstances made it impossible to sustain. Since his income is barely sufficient to keep his car running, Scott regularly visits the local foodbank, which is exacerbating his distress and sense of drift.   

It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. A community of mutually trusting adults is vital if children, and by extension society, are to flourish. Re-building the village must involve all levels of government, enabling strategic partnerships between national and local services.  

Strengthening community capacity, particularly by empowering locally embedded services such as CABs, is a key part of this. Our safety net must act as a springboard, providing young people with a level of financial security that enables them to participate sustainably and ultimately to thrive. 

The pieces of the jigsaw include income stability, housing security, good mental health, skills development and employability. What is needed is a joined-up approach to delivery, aligning partners around shared priorities and turning ambition into coordinated action and real outcomes.