Labour must youth-proof all policies, says former minister

Speaking at a fringe event at Labour’s annual conference in Brighton, Vernon Coaker, a former schools minister under the previous government, said his party should make young people integral to its election campaign.

“I think there is a real opportunity for the Labour party to grasp this [the youth agenda] and say it is not going to be a marginal issue for us,” Coaker said.

“If the party said we will make this a major part of a future Labour government in every single area of policy, what an inspiring thing that would be.

“We need to say that young people are at the centre of what we do, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because if we do that we will get better policy and better outcomes.“

Last year, Labour announced that it plans to make youth services statutory if it gains power at the next election.

A policy review on youth services that includes looking at the case for locating youth clubs in schools is also under way.

Coaker was speaking at an event hosted by charity Kids Count that looked at the role communities and young people can play with police and crime commissioners (PCCs).

Paddy Tipping, PCC for Nottinghamshire, said it is vital that young people are consulted to improve policing, but said that while some efforts by PCCs to engage with young people had been good, others had been “a fiasco”.