The initiative follows on from the consultation on the Youth Matters green paper, which attracted about 19,000 responses from young people. The department wants to ensure that it continues to receive feedback from young people as it implements the proposals in the green paper.
As part of the drive Parmjit Dhanda, the undersecretary of state for children, young people and families, is undertaking a seven-stop tour of England, visiting youth groups and meeting young people.
This kicked off yesterday (Tuesday) with a visit to the Streetz Cafe community project, and Pennywell Youth Project in Sunderland. A series of further meetings are planned, some alongside culture minister David Lammy, and third sector minister Ed Miliband.
Dhanda will report his findings at The National Youth Agency's Youth Summit, which is being held in London on 25 and 26 June. He said: "I know not everything I hear on the tour will be positive - I expect some anger and frustration from young people who feel they have been unfairly treated by society, or don't have enough to do in their area.
"But it's important to listen unflinchingly, that's the best way to start building more effective services for our young citizens."
The DfES has also launched a consultation with young people, Implementing youth matters. The survey seeks young people's views on a range of subjects, including whether they feel that services have improved in the past year, and whether they are aware of youth initiatives such as the Youth Opportunity Fund and creative fund Mediabox.
Tom Wylie, the chief executive of The National Youth Agency, said that the Government generally has shown a greater interest in consulting the public over the past couple of years, but that the DfES has a particular focus.
"What the DfES has got is a much sharper edge to that because it has had things such as the Youth Opportunity Fund to build young people's participation," he said. "The more diverse young people it meets the better."
www.dfes.gov.uk.
