Gove letter fails to commit to Whitehall youth policy

In January, more than 120 youth sector organisations signed a letter to Michael Gove calling on him to explain comments made during an education select committee meeting in which he said that local government should take responsibility for youth policy.
 
Writing in response to the letter, Gove said that local authorities knew the “needs of young people and their communities much better than central government”.

“Decisions about the prioritisation of funding and the provision of services for young people are best made at local level, taking account of the local context,” he said.

“Our role from the centre is to give local authorities the freedom and flexibility to make the most effective decisions, by providing them with un-ringfenced funding and removing unnecessary bureaucracy.

“It is for that reason that I said to the select committee that ‘youth policy is primarily a matter for local government’ and it is why I do not believe that ‘discrete’ youth policy should be a top priority for the department.”

Gove ended his letter by affirming that young people and children “do take centre stage” in the Department for Education’s policies.

Susanne Rauprich, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, said she would continue to fight for central government to play a greater role in youth policy.

“We are pleased to be assured that young people take centre stage in DfE policies, as well as others promoted by central government,” said Rauprich.

“However, as recent data shows, this commitment without more explicit guidance is not sufficient to ensure that local funding decisions match the needs of young people in the way the Secretary of State hopes. We will continue to lobby for a much more engaged policy focus to be maintained centrally.”

Her comments were backed by David Wright, chief executive of the Confederation of Heads of Young People’s Services, who also signed the original letter.

While he agreed that decisions on the funding and provision of services for young people should be made at a local level, he said central government must do more to ensure consistently good provision across the country.

“There continues to be a role for central government to ensure that all young people have access to quality youth services, and the revised statutory guidance, published last year, restated this ambition,” said Wright.

“Unless government sees its role to intervene when a sufficient youth offer has not been secured or where the quality of that youth offer is poor and letting young people down, then young people will not be centre stage as the Secretary of State claims.”

In the earlier letter, the signatories asked Gove to pursue an “overarching policy framework” for young people that “maximises the effective use of scarce resources and encourages collaboration amongst service providers”.

Gove said he agreed with this principle, and that “education” should be central to policies for young people.

“At the heart of that policy framework should be giving young people the opportunity to benefit from an excellent and rigorous education, which provides them with the knowledge and skills they need to go on to further study or employment,” said Gove.

“Young people also need to know that, if they are vulnerable, they will be protected from harm, and if they are disadvantaged, they will be provided with the support they need to access education.”