Policy & Practice: Briefing - Teenagers have their say on greenpaper

What kind of consultation took place then? A booklet summarising the proposals in last year's children's green paper was widely distributed and there were some 3,000 responses from under-18s, plus a few youth workers who got their views in. There were also 62 meetings that involved 750 young people aged between four and 18. Around half of these were general and half were targeted at particular groups, including looked-after young people, refugees, carers and those with disabilities.

And what kind of information does the report include? The consultation sought views in response to specific questions such as, "how do you think you should have a say" on council services. The feedback on this particular question found 624 respondents preferred consultations and surveys, 574 preferred open meetings and forums, 334 voted for youth councils, while 232 thought it should take place through schools. The report fleshes out these figures with comments from young people. So we learn that young people said they preferred meetings to form filling, that they wanted councillors to come to see them in places they felt comfortable, such as youth centres and, quite naturally, wanted them not just to listen but to do something.