Young people will have a say in government's youth policy, says Loughton

Speaking at the Positive for Youth conference in Westminster on Wednesday, billed as a "youth summit", Loughton said a final version of the strategy will only be published once the sector has been consulted over the summer.

"I’m going to produce a draft of proposals that I’m then going to give back to you to inspect and scrutinise," he told delegates. "You can pull it to pieces and really let me know what you think before government produces a final policy document on young people."

He added that the policy will be different to previous government documents that were "high in costs but low in actual content for the people that they were intended for".

A youth action group with representatives from a small number of large youth organisations is also being set up to inform the development of government policies and their impact on young people most in need. Ministers from seven government departments will serve on the group, he said. Loughton said he was pressing all departments to "youth-proof" their policies as well. "I want to make sure that every government minister thinks youth as well when developing policy," he said.

He acknowledged that young people’s services were facing difficult times but said that organisations needed to use their money more wisely. "In these straightened economic times, youth services are sadly bearing the brunt of many of the cuts," he said. "What we have to do to ensure that we come through this is to think smarter about the way that we work."

One way to do this is to have more local authorities working "hand in hand" with business, social enterprises, voluntary groups, the education sector and young people.

"We want more pooling of resources to get better value for money and more collaboration. We want to see a commitment to share smart new ideas," he added.

The government policies for young people will be driven by four principles, he added. First, it wants a "positive and active role for young people" and will urge young people to get involved with youth councils, youth mayors and youth parliament to make sure their voices are heard.

Second, local communities need to get more involved with young people through community projects led by volunteers and socially responsible businesses. The government’s reforms to vetting and barring procedures will make it easier for adults to volunteer, Loughton added.

Third, the government will target the most vulnerable young people and focus on quality of outcomes. And fourth, it will try to achieve "a greater diversity of service providers to get the best value for money and support growth in the voluntary sector", he said.

The summit was arranged by the Department for Education and the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services to bring seven government departments and the youth sector together.