Activities to support vulnerable adolescents cut across at least seven different government departments.16 The Department for Education confirmed to us that it is ultimately responsible for ‘holding the ring’ on vulnerable adolescents and has an overarching responsibility for children and young people.17 It told us its overarching responsibility should not translate into to a single system nor single definition of vulnerability, but rather it tries to get a sense of the co-ordinated picture of support through the Vulnerable Children and Young People Strategy Board.18 We were told this board, which had evolved from an earlier COVID-19 focused board, had met once in September and would meet again in December. The Department for Education said the board is a cross-government officials’ group chaired by Department for Education focused on bringing together government’s understanding of the most complex children and young people.19 The Department for Education told us Ministers would be brought together on particular topics but there was no equivalent ministerial level board.20 The NAO found that local bodies implementing policies led by different departments are navigating complex requirements which can lead to confusion at a local level. It also found that the multiple programmes from government often impact the same local authority teams who themselves are then in some cases working with the same young people.21