THE Government is right to encourage as many children as possible to stay in education and training for as long as possible.

The more skills people have, the more opportunities they have.

The Government is also right to tackle the problem of Neets - 16 to 18-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training. With a hardcore of 20,000 and concern for 200,000, Britain has one of the highest levels of Neets in Europe.

They will become the next generation of the benefit-dependent long-term unemployed.

They will be expensive to keep for all of their lives unless they can be coerced into a more productive course.

That coercion is through a carrot and a stick: the extension of the £30-a-week education maintenance award and the introduction of a £50 fine.

This is not only about formal schooling.

There will be 90,000 new apprenticeships to appeal to the non-academic, while for those desperate to join the world of work, they can get a job at 16 as long as that job includes one day's training a week.

There is much to commend the Government's idea. Yet 16 is a funny age. You are responsible enough to join the army and get married, but not responsible enough to buy a drink or drive a car. Under these new plans, you are now not responsible enough to decide what to do with your life - but the nanny state is.

The £30-a-week grant will barely cover the cost of a new hoodie, and the £50 fine will go unpaid.

Can you really fine an unwilling pupil back into the classroom, and will it enhance the career opportunities of someone with few educational qualifications if they have a criminal record on their CVs?

And what new force is going to be created to police the naughty Neets?

The misgivings are many and varied, yet the era of the dropout and the layabout must come to an end. These proposals are balanced. The best way of determining how much carrot and how much stick is required is to see them in action as soon as possible.