In her response to the manifesto, distilled from Youth Matters consultation responses, Hughes said she was proposing new legislation to clarify the duty on local authorities to provide sufficient opportunities for young people.
She backed calls for young people to play an active role in all levels of decision-making about services that affect them and for the Secretary of State for Education to intervene if a local authority fails to provide youth opportunities. She added that local authorities will have to invest in young people's services and develop local strategies for the young people's workforce.
In response to YPN's call for youth services to continue to provide places to go for young people and a safe and supportive environment, the minister said: "I want to see services responding flexibly to what young people want - that's the challenge for youth work."
She disagreed that ring-fenced funding for the voluntary sector should be kept under children's trusts, saying it could lead to "tokenistic approaches". She also disagreed that sanctions should not be attached to opportunity cards.
Steve Barrett, editor of Young People Now, said: "We are glad the minister is responding to our readers' views. It is disappointing, but no surprise, that she has issues with some of the points in the manifesto."
YPN'S YOUTH MATTERS MANIFESTO
- Funding to be allocated to support Youth Matters
- Research on opportunity cards needed
- Sanctions should not be attached to cards
- Youth services to offer places to go and provide a safe and supportive environment
- Local statutory duty to provide youth opportunities
- Government to intervene if a local authority fails
- Ring-fenced money for the voluntary sector must be retained under children's trusts
- Young people to be involved in decision-making
- Need for tailored workforce development strategy
- Providers of information, advice and guidance services to be held clearly accountable.
