The voluntary sector should be the main player in the provision of services for young people, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said at the party's first ever "youth summit" on Monday.
Speaking to an audience of around 50 senior people from the voluntary sector, Duncan Smith said: "We will follow today's discussions with a report which will help ensure we have a higher quality, more effective set of policies - based on your best practice - to get a fair deal for youth services."
He promised reduced red tape and a simpler approach to funding for the youth-related voluntary sector if his party won power, and also wanted to see the public and voluntary sectors working more closely together.
"Wouldn't the 3.5m spent to date on Connexions marketing be better spent on voluntary organisations?" he asked.
