Failure to protect young people from damaging social problems costs the public purse £17bn each year in immediate costs, a government-funded think-tank has warned today.

A report from the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) said the £5bn cost of looking after children in care made up one third of this cost, with a further £4bn spent on benefits for 18 to 24-year-olds classed as not in education, employment or training and an extra £900m helping young people whose mental health is blighted by drug or alcohol problems.