Nandy defends Labour's youth services policy U-turn

The party's Youth Manifesto has ruled out forcing councils to provide a minimum level of youth provision and instead commits Labour to carrying out a “root and branch” review of youth services should it win the general election.

Lisa Nandy, shadow minister for civil society, which includes youth work, says the review will focus on addressing funding shortfalls, improving accessibility of services and empowering young people in the commissioning and provision of services.

She said: “We know there is strong support for statutory youth services among many stakeholders but the reason we have launched the root and branch review was that young people were telling us that it wasn’t being enforced because the really big issue was around funding.

“We started from the premise that we would not give young people promises that were not meaningful or we could not keep and there was a concern that making a promise on a statutory youth service wouldn’t deliver the youth service they needed.”

This will be the second major review by Labour into youth services in the last three years, however, its 2012 review failed to develop a firm policy on either funding or provision.

Nandy has pledged that this latest review will be swift “as young people can’t wait”.

She added: “We know from the last five years that already many areas have lost a substantial part if not all of the youth service.”

Nandy said the review will draw on examples of “innovative” practice already taking place, and ensure that funding “has strong central direction and oversight”.

Examples of good practice she gave were the hub and spoke method used in Wigan’s Youth Zone, where a large youth centre supports smaller local services and offers young people transport links.

Another is to offer young people a formal say in how local youth services are provided, such as in Lambeth through the Young Lambeth Co-operative.

“One of the primary purposes of the review is to consider how we extend real power to young people over the design, commissioning and accountability of youth services in their area. Young people in areas where they drive services and can hold them to account are where those services are most valued,” said Nandy.

She also revealed that a policy idea from its 2012 review into youth services to open up youth clubs in schools has also been axed. Instead this has helped develop its 2015 general election manifesto pledges to boost voluntary and community opportunities for pupils.

Nandy reiterated Labour's election manifesto commitment to expanding the National Citizen Service so that it provides better value for money and has more of a “long-term impact” on young people.

In addition, she confirmed that the party currently has no preference as to whether youth policy should stay within the Cabinet Office or move back to the Department for Education, if it wins May's general election.

Labour’s Youth Manifesto was developed following input with young people during its Shape Your Future consultation that launched earlier this year.