Four years is a long time in politics, so what has Labour done for teenagers in its second term, asks Tom Lloyd.

"When you think about the opportunities a 16-year-old has now, compared with a 16-year-old eight years ago, it's staggering," John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, recently told the Labour Party Spring Conference, before plunging into a list of statistics.

The Labour Party faithful lapped it up, but a less committed crowd might question whether they should really be "staggered". So what has the Government done for young people?

A good starting point is the 2001 manifesto, and on one level at least the Government has met its pledge to youth work. Tom Wylie, chief executive of The National Youth Agency, says: "It never said it would do anything. Whether it has done as much as it should is another question."

One thing the Government has produced is a lot of paperwork. In the past four years we've had consultation documents such as Transforming Youth Work and Resourcing Excellent Youth Services. There has also been the Every Child Matters green paper and subsequent Children Act 2004, as well as a host of guidance.

Susanne Rauprich, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, says: "One achievement has been transforming the way the Government works with the voluntary sector. We are seeing real partnerships at a national level."

In the area of youth offending, Labour has taken firm action since it came to power in 1997. In its first term it set up the Youth Justice Board to oversee criminal justice for juveniles in England and Wales, which in turn led to the creation of youth offending teams.

Chris Stanley, head of youth crime at crime-reduction charity Nacro, says: "This has been an achievement. A multi-agency approach to youth offending is something that Nacro has been advocating for decades."

But since 2001 the Government's actions have been less positive. It has introduced antisocial behaviour legislation, and promoted the use of antisocial behaviour orders - measures that haven't met with everyone's approval.

High custody rates

"While the Youth Justice Board has pumped a lot of resources into custody, there are still far too many young people going through the system," says Stanley. "Reducing the numbers would be the key to many other things."

Guidance for young people has seen major changes over the past four years, especially since the creation of Connexions. The first partnerships were set up in 2001, with the aim of providing support for 13- to 19-year-olds.

Carolyn Caldwell, executive director of the National Association of Connexions Partnerships, says that this was part of a four-part strategy to engage more young people, encompassing Education Maintenance Allowances, which have now been rolled out, the review of 14 to 19 education, which is now in the form of a white paper, the Connexions Card, and Connexions partnerships.

"If you look at the whole strategy, the bits that are in place are doing OK, and of course we think that we have succeeded," says Caldwell.

But draft versions of the youth green paper suggest that the Government sees things differently.

Older young people looking for advice on training or careers are now sent on the New Deal for Young People, which the Government regards as one of its clearest successes.

Since the programme started in 1998, Labour says long-term youth unemployment has fallen by 75 per cent, and that more than 518,000 young people have found work through the New Deal, although the Tories dispute these figures.

Another qualified success is Labour's record on child poverty, which it has promised to eradicate by 2020. It has managed to keep on track with this by cutting poverty by a quarter, but there are concerns that young people have been neglected. Rebecca Pritchard, director of services at youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, says: "They've done well but they have taken their eyes off the group that we work with."

George McNamara, policy officer at children's charity NCH, agrees: "We're pleased that since Labour came to power there has been a greater commitment to early years, but we would like to see this commitment transferred to teenagers as well."

There have also been two recent publications on health: the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services was published last year, and the public health white paper came out in November 2004.

Paul Ennals, chief executive of children's charity National Children's Bureau, says the document is "genuinely valuable" and that the "framework for children and adolescent health is improving ... time will tell how that really impacts on the ground".

Reforms under way

Tying this vast agenda together is the vision for the reform of children's services contained in Every Child Matters, which is now being implemented under the Children Act 2004. Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, says: "The big thing is that we now have a focus on children that we have never had before. This is the first election that we have gone into where children are at the centre of government policy."

This agenda is still in its early stages of development. Children's trusts have been set up in many local authorities, and a children's commissioner for England has just been appointed, but there is a lot more to be done, particularly around youth work.

Of course, practitioners are not the only group that will be judging the Government on its achievements for children and young people. At the Labour conference, John Prescott observed that "a 16-year-old here this weekend would have been eight years old when we came to power".

His point was that some voters would never have known a Conservative government, but another consideration is that Labour is being judged by young people who know exactly what impact its policies have had on their lives.

LABOUR'S FOUR-YEAR REPORT CARD

Youth work: "Very positive developments on Resourcing Excellent Youth Services, but weaker on ensuring funding for services." - Tom Wylie, chief executive, The National Youth Agency. 7/10

Reform of children and young people's services: "It is easy to say the Every Child Matters framework is really far-reaching, but it's less easy to implement." - Anne Longfield, chief executive, 4Children. 7/10

Education and employment: "Young people have got a Connexions service that they recognise, like and use." - Carolyn Caldwell, executive director, National Association of Connexions Partnerships "Education Maintenance Allowances do help young people." - Rebecca Pritchard, director of services, Centrepoint. 7/10

Youth offending: "It is a bit towards the good really, but there have been some negatives - antisocial behaviour orders, for instance." Chris Stanley, head of youth crime, Nacro. 7/10

Voluntary sector: "A lot of good work has been done to change the funding climate. There is a real partnership approach, with the voluntary sector in the driving seat." - Susanne Rauprich, chief executive, NCVYS. 8/10

Health: "They've had some real achievements, but at the same time they've lacked the courage to see through some of the aspirations they were sharing with us in 2001." - Paul Ennals, chief executive, National Children's Bureau. 6/10.