The National Youth Agency: Column - Billy Bunter's postal order

The Government's green paper on youth risks prompting similar cynicism as the original launch slips from autumn through winter into spring.

Assuming it does appear eventually, The NYA will look to give it a warm welcome, even if green papers and similar reports often reflect the changing preoccupations of policymakers rather than the changing needs of the young.

In my professional lifetime I can recall at least five, from Milson-Fairbairn in 1969 through to Resourcing Excellent Youth Services in 2002.

Policy documents seem to turn up more frequently these days, though not necessarily to their declared timetable. Almost all policy work is now done by officials rather than by external committees. But closeness to the intentions of ministers does not guarantee high-quality analysis nor subsequent implementation of proposals. Milson-Fairbairn was published by a Labour minister, Denis Howell, but buried, wisely and without ceremony, by his Conservative successor, Margaret Thatcher. The Thompson Committee (1982) was a Conservative creation but did not produce a Conservative document: its central recommendations were dismissed by Keith Joseph and the rest dismantled by officials after a hopelessly short period. The jury is still out on the longevity of New Labour's Connexions and Transforming Youth Work initiatives.