Commission on youth service provision to launch

From Children & Young People Now

A commission to determine minimum levels of youth service provision at a local level is to be set up by the National Youth Agency.

The work, which will involve the creation of "sufficiency measures", is intended to feed into a government consultation on plans to revise existing guidance on the duty to secure sufficient activities for young people.

Proposals to slim down the existing guidance were announced in the Positive for Youth policy paper, unveiled last month<http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/1109801/National-youth-scrutiny-group-advise-ministers-Positive-Youth-policy-unveiled/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH>.

Speaking at a conference in London on the future role of councils in supporting young people yesterday (17 January), Fiona Blacke, chief executive of the NYA, said plans to create a commission of four or five experts are in place.

"We think there is a conversation or work to be done to look across councils to see what sufficiency is and what is below that level," she said. "I think the [children's] minister [Tim Loughton] is quite supportive of us doing it."

The aim is for the commission to report before the end of the consultation on the revised guidance – which is yet to launch – so that it can be submitted for consideration.

Also speaking at the conference, Loughton said the new guidance will make expectations "more explicit and meaningful".

These will not involve defined standard levels, although authorities will be expected to involve young people in decision-making, he added.

"There will not be a minimum standard service offer for each local authority. Local authorities are best to decide," Loughton said.

"There is an obvious way to find out what those services should be – our vision is to for councils and young people to work together much more closely.

"Young people must be at the heart of local services, shaping delivery."


View original article: http://www.cypnow.co.uk/Youth_Work/article/1112803/commission-youth-service-provision-launch/?DCMP=EMC-CONCYPNow



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