Youth minister Margaret Hodge said the green paper, announced in the Government's five-year education plan, will examine how existing services can work more closely.
"There are too many silos," she told YPN. "Think of how often young people are assessed. They get assessed by drug action teams, by youth offending teams, by Connexions. It's crazy."
The green paper, due out in the autumn, will define the policies necessary to realise the "integrated youth offer" that the Government proposed in its education plan, Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners.
The "offer" aims to provide young people with more out-of-school activities, advice and chances to volunteer. It will draw on the experience of Connexions.
Hodge said the scope of the green paper was far larger than after-school activities, adding that the Tomlinson report on 14-19 education would also feed into the policy document. She said that money to implement the policies is already in the system but needs to be freed up.
Hodge also said the youth green paper would complement the Every Child Matters agenda.
While the green paper and integrated youth offer was welcomed by the youth sector, some organisations raised concerns.
Nigel Haynes, director of Fairbridge, said: "More options will be meaningless for those without aspirations. It will be essential to ensure targeted support for young people growing up in areas of endemic unemployment."
www.dfes.gov.uk
- See Leader, p13.
