But some politicians do not see it that way. Comments by Home Office minister Hazel Blears and skills minister Phil Hope reported in Young People Now last month suggested that standard youth clubs are not part of the Government's vision (YPN, 5-11 October, p2). And Ofsted inspectors tend to disparage youth provision that offers mere recreation and a chance for young people to meet.
Most worryingly, in January this year Margaret Hodge, then minister for children and young people, chose to highlight research suggesting young people would be better off at home rather than "hanging out" in a youth facility that offered only a "place to go". That led to a broadsheet newspaper headline, "Youth clubs can be bad for you, says report".
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