Green paper aims to join up services

A green paper on youth is planned for the autumn, the Department
for Education and Skills has revealed.

The green paper will set out plans for services and activities, as
well as advice to help teenagers make choices about their personal
lives and education. The DfES said the consultation will involve
other government departments, charities, young people and parents.

Children’s minister Margaret Hodge said it was time to look at how
services for teenagers and young people “fit together”.

The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services and the National
Youth Agency are to convene a working group to assist the
government in developing the paper.

Welcoming the announcement, National Council chief executive
Susanne Rauprich said: “This will precipitate a national political
discourse on young people’s issues and lead to the concerns of
young people, one of the most disenfranchised groups in society,
receiving the focus they deserve.”