Involving Young People in Local Government Decision Making by Jemma Roche

Involving Young People in Local Government Decision Making The Youth Voice Vehicle Self Assessment Report (July - August 2012)

representative

accountable independent

support buy inimpact

power and influence

Also in this series Measuring the impact and success of your youth voice vehicle

representative

accountable independent

Supporting youth participation in local democracy through the youth voice vehicle

support buy inimpact

a handbook for practitioners

power and influence

accountable independent

A ‘snapshot’ of participation mechanisms in local authorities (England)

support buy inimpact

Carried out in June 2012

1. Introduction Over the past decade there has been an expansion of youth councils, cabinets, parliaments and forums funded and supported by local authorities, and across political parties. The challenges to actively involve young people in local democracy and decision-making are many and varied, including the pressure on resources. Although the preferred model varies there is growing recognition and evidence that youth participation and representation not only benefits young people during their transition to adulthood, particularly nurturing youth leadership and teamwork skills, but it can also result in better quality decision making for those who facilitate it. Consequently school councils, local authority youth councils, youth work projects, health and police initiatives can all benefit. It has also become evident that young people want a voice on topics other than youth services – transport, environment, safety – which affect all of us.

power and influence

representative

accountable independent

As well as listening to young people and addressing their needs decision-makers can also use a structure of youth participation to test out and consult on their proposals. This is particularly relevant when it’s consulting users of its services or hearing from those otherwise marginalised.

support

In order to assess how widespread these sorts of opportunities are being provided the British Youth Council conducted a survey which was completed by representatives from local authorities in June 2012. It provided a list of all of the ways in which young people across the UK are being given a voice and asked them to indicate which ones were being provided by their authority. There have been 100 responses and a list of which local authorities are included in the results is included at the end of this document.

buy inimpact power and influence

A guide for staff, councillors and young people involved in youth voice with a local authority

British Youth Council We empower young people across the UK to have a say and be heard www.byc.org.uk | CAN Mezzanine, 49-51 East Road, London, N1 6AH | 0845 458 1489 Registered Charity no. 1123224 | Company Limited by Guarantee no. 6226595 | Registered in England and Wales

representative

Measuring the impact and success of your youth voice vehicle

Supporting youth participation in local democracy through the youth voice vehicle - a handbook for practitioners

A ‘snapshot’ of participation mechanisms in local authorities - England

Related publications from BYC Setting up a parish, town or community youth council

A guide for councillors, staff and volunteers supporting youth councils in parish, town and community councils Setting up a parish, town or community youth council

Setting up a parish, town or community youth council

Setting up an elected Young Mayor scheme

Supporting & Developing an Effective Youth Council

A guide for councillors, staff and volunteers supporting youth councils in county, district and unitary authorities

| 1

Supporting & Developing an Effective Youth Council

| 1

Supporting & Developing an Effective Youth Council

A guide for Council Officers supporting Young Mayor schemes

Setting up and supporting a UK Youth Parliament programme in a Local Authority

Setting up a Young Mayor scheme

| 1

Setting up an elected Young Mayor Scheme

All of these publications can be downloaded from the BYC website: www.byc.org.uk/uk-work/youth-voice

A guide for Council Officers supporting the UK Youth Parliament scheme in a Local Authority

Setting up and supporting a UK Youth Parliament programme in a Local Authority

| 1

Seting up and supporting a UK Youth Parliament programme in a Local Authority

CONTENTS

Introduction 4 Summary of findings

Conclusions 7 Underlying principles and values of YVVs How the YVVs are assessed

9 10

The seven Key Questions: 1) Is the YVV representative of the youth population?

2) Is the YVV accountable to the youth population?

3) How independent is the YVV?

4) Does the YVV receive sufficient support?

5) How much political and senior-level buy-in is there?

6) How much power and influence does the YVV have?

7) What impact does the YVV have?

Appendices 25

INTRODUCTION

The term Youth Voice Vehicle (YVV), and this self assessment process, came about as a result of the cross-Government policy for young people aged 13-19 called ‘Positive for Youth’ published in late 2011 but promoted and developed throughout the year. This policy urges national and local government as well as other statutory bodies to listen to the voices of young people and engage them as partners in decision making. While the Government has left local authorities to decide for themselves how best to achieve this, they want to be certain that all young people have access to an effective mechanism through which they can influence policies, services and decisions that affect their lives. In order to do this it asked the British Youth Council (BYC) in 2011 to promote the involvement of young people in local and national decision making, to provide support to local authorities and young people with recommendations on how to do this, and to build on existing good practice. This included designing a way for local authorities and YVVs to assess their current arrangements. In response to this BYC’s Youth Voice initiative, with local input, produced a self-assessment toolkit which was provided to local authorities to complete voluntarily and return to us during the summer of 2012. This report describes and analyses the results of these self-assessments from 70 local authorities, to provide an overview of how effective YVVs currently are across England, and provides a benchmark against which we can measure change, or offer support. The toolkit1 which included the self-assessment template also included an action planning template. Revised guidance for local authorities on the role of young people in the light of Positive for Youth was published by the Department for Education in July 2012. It states the responsibilities of local authorities around involving young people: Extract from DFE Guidance “Responsibilities of local authorities” Involving young people 3. Local authorities must take steps to ascertain the views of young people and to take them into account in making decisions about services and activities for them, in line with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). They should establish and maintain structured arrangements for doing so. To inform continuous improvement, these arrangements should 1 BYC worked with the Network of Regional Youth Work Units: England to produce this toolkit.

enable young people to inspect and report at least annually on the quality and accessibility of provision. As appropriate they should also be involved actively in service design, delivery and governance. Young people should receive the support they need to participate, ensuring representation of the full diversity of local young people, and those who may not otherwise have a voice. In response to this, BYC’s Youth Voice initiative will now produce a youth proofed version of the guidance and what it means to young people, explaining their entitlements to services so that local authorities can use the existing structures to start to deliver on these commitments. The following summary, and detailed analysis of the self-assessments, will form the benchmark for audits in future years, using seven key standards. Key standard areas: 1. Representativeness 2. Accountability 3. Sufficiency of support 4. Independence 5. Senior buy-in 6. Power and influence 7. Impact Youth Voice Vehicle The term Youth Voice Vehicle was coined to refer to the overall local authority body for both representing young people and consulting them, and may include a range of models developed over previous local administrations. Most local authorities have a top-tier YVV which is a body that covers the whole of the authority area and has a broad range of interests and groups represented. Others keep their special interest groups separate to feed into specific services, for example the children in care council might only feed into looked-after services; others organise only at a local area level because of the size of the authority. Some are a mixture of the three models and others are works in progress as they cope with the impact of re-organisation, change of priorities or lack of resources. Where this is the case we have asked that the YVV assessment is applied to the local authority’s overall strategy for youth voice, involving young people from the range of young people led organisations that are in place. These can be elected, nominated or selected and include: • Youth councils, young mayors, youth parliaments, youth cabinets, young commissioners. • Disabled youth councils, children in care councils, youthbanks. • Youth steering group boards, parish youth councils. • School council networks. 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS This table shows the overall percentage breakdown for all of the seven key questions. This figure is taken from the cumulative number of responses to each of the best practice indicators in each question. Although the number of responses varied slightly between each question, they stayed very close to the total number of overall responses: 70. The breakdown of each question in the following chapters describes a number of evidence indicators. We have agreed not to name and shame authorities which are in the red category. The assessment tool allows for action planning to improve an amber or red status by accessing training and support from BYC or other provider.

Green: in place and have evidence Amber: in place but needs some improvement Red: nothing in place (yet) There were no local authorities that scored totally green, although one scored green in six of the seven categories. 6

Green

Amber

(1) Is the YVV representative of the youth population in the authority?

55.28%

38.25%

Percentage of LAs that have Red something in place (Green + Amber) 6.47% 93.53%

(2) Is the YVV accountable to the youth population in the authority?

49.58%

42.50%

7.92%

92.08%

(3) How independent is the YVV?

32.93%

31.13%

35.94%

64.06%

(4) Does the YVV receive sufficient support from the authority to enable it to fulfil its role?

63.05%

28.25%

8.70%

91.30%

(5) How much political and senior-level buy-in from the local authority is in place?

47.48%

41.70%

10.82%

89.18%

(6) How much power and influence does the YVV have?

32.35%

48.75%

18.90%

81.10%

(7) What impact does the YVV have on the policies and services for young people?

42.70%

43.48%

13.82%

86.18%

CONCLUSIONS

Representativeness The highest scoring area was the degree to which authorities believed their structure was representative of the profile of young people in their area. Many local authorities have been developing youth voice bodies for a number of years and many include representation of minority groups’ interests. A comprehensive model is one of mixed elected representation and reserved seats for minority groups, whose profile represents that of the local youth population. The most obvious example of a minority representation are the children in care councils, but others have included disability, faith or young representatives from charities targeting the harder to reach. Independence The data shows that the independence of YVVs is one area that is not yet performing as well as the others. The key indicators for ‘How independent is the YVV?’ include such things as; ‘does the YVV have its own bank account?’ and ‘does the YVV’s communications strategy enable it to manage its own media relations?’. For these areas we find that the largest proportion of LAs had nothing in place to address these issues. This is not entirely surprising as local authorities are responsible for resourcing the YVV, so ensuring its independence is something of a contradiction in terms. However, we have included it to ensure that we are asking ‘to what extent are a group of young people being supported to be independently critical of a local authority’, especially when they are invited to ‘audit’, ‘scrutinise’ or ‘inspect’ services, when they also depend on that local authority for funding and legitimacy. Sufficiency of support This scored the highest percentage of evidenced (green) assessment by local authorities who believe they are providing their YVVs with sufficient support in order to enable it to fulfil its role. This is a claim that is supported by our other survey of structures1, which shows that an average of 91% of local authorities feel they have at least some system to ensure that their YVVs are set up and run effectively. This is in the context of cuts to overall services and restructuring of youth services, which are frequently relied on to support youth participation. Accountability The overall level of accountability reported is high at 92%, though the number scoring green was less than half. This theme was tested against questions about annual reporting, regularity of contact and communications. 1 “A Snapshot of Participation Mechanisms in Local Authorities” – see Appendix Three

Buy in Although an overall positive score of 89% for amber and green together, the proportion of green evidence is below half. This is particularly relevant in relation to sustainability of youth participation which is more likely when senior officials and councillors see its value and are prepared to support it with time and resources. There may be a reciprocal relationship with the degree of power and influence, or status that the youth body has within the local authority structure. Power and Influence This scored the second lowest green evidence base, but overall with amber, remains high at 81%. But is power and influence more important than impact, the former being harder to assess than the latter? There will be a relationship between the two â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as there is between all the themes. Impact Overall 86% believe their YVV has a positive impact on policies and services for young people. This is perhaps the most significant benchmark for evaluation. In a similar survey of all youth councils in the UK in 2010 (Young Voices Stronger Together, BYC) local authorities stated that as a consequence of having engaged with youth councils: 62% were increasing the quality of youth services, 22% saved money for young people and 13% saved money for their local authority.

We conclude that: 1. We have established a benchmark of sufficient numbers of participating local authorities to conduct an annual assessment. 2. There is a foundation of very good practice to share. 3. There is a commitment by local authorities to be self critical and aspire to improvement. 4. There are overall very good levels of quality. Next Steps 1. Get permission from best practice authorities to publish and share their practice. 2. Target support and offer training and development to help others to improve. 3. Repeat the assessment in 12 months time.

UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES AND VALUES OF THE YOUTH VOICE VEHICLES

The underlying principles of the Government’s Positive for Youth policy as well as YVVs are the engagement of young people in local democratic processes. This is so that young people have a sense of belonging, communities become stronger and the services that are offered locally have the best chance of making an impact. This policy and subsequent YVV assessment reflects the Government’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its desire for every local authority area to have the best structures and mechanisms to enable youth involvement. The self-assessment toolkit is underpinned by a set of principles which BYC believes should inform the involvement of young people in the decision making: •

Young people have the opportunity to be involved in making decisions on what their involvement should be and which vehicle is used.

•

YVVs should have a clear vision and purpose, shared by young people and understood by the local authority and support providers.

•

Local authorities should recognise the value of involving young people in decision making at a strategic level, and make sufficient resources available to support their involvement.

•

YVVs should be inclusive of young people from different backgrounds and with different needs, and should ensure that their ways of working do not exclude or discriminate against specific groups.

•

YVVs should be representative of the diversity of the young people living in the local authority area.

•

Adults involved in supporting, advising and liaising with YVVs should fully understand and support the processes of young people’s involvement.

•

Young people should be involved in developing and deciding on appropriate resources, support and training required to establish a productive environment for young people’s participation.

•

YVVs and local authorities should be outward focused and draw on good practice in other settings and organisations.

•

YVVs and local authorities should regularly assess the impact of young people’s involvement to ensure that investment in young people’s voice is making a difference to young people’s lives. 9

•

YVVs and local authorities should be able to articulate the benefits they have seen from involving young people in decision making.

Based on these principles the BYC identified seven key questions for local authorities to test the strength of their youth voice arrangements. In the following chapters we will address each of these questions individually, starting with an overview of the indicators of best practice that have been designed by the BYC, followed by an analysis of the results of the selfassessments.

How the YVVs were assessed We recommended that the local authorities have a review meeting once a year which includes members of the YVV, the main support worker for the YVV and the person in the local authority who has the main responsibility for listening and responding to the voices of young people. This might be a councillor/elected member or a senior officer. This meeting would give them the chance to reflect on how far they have travelled towards achieving the good practice indicators under each of the seven key questions. The local authorities are asked to assess themselves against each of these questions using the traffic lights method as either: • Green: in place and have evidence • Amber: in place but needs some improvement • Red: nothing in place (yet) In the following chapters we will address each of the seven key questions separately. This will include an overview of the indicators of best practice which have been designed by the BYC, followed by a breakdown and analysis of the results of the self-assessments. 10

QUESTION 1: IS THE YOUTH VOICE VEHICLE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YOUTH POPULATION IN THE AUTHORITY?

Indicators of best practice

Young people are elected to the YVV through a transparent recruitment and election process with a turnout of more than 25% of the relevant youth population The YVV regularly reviews its membership and has a transparent strategy to ensure that the YVV represents the diversity of the youth population of the area (this could include reserved places for under-represented groups, outreach campaign to ensure people from under-represented groups stand for election etc) The YVV is linked to single issue and special interest young peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voice groups in the area (e.g. Young People in Care Forum, Environment Groups) with clear mechanisms for representing the interests of these groups Schools, colleges and academies in the local authority area recognise the YVV as a powerful voice for young people and support its elections and campaigns YVV meetings are accessible to young people with particular needs, whether physical, cultural or emotional The YVV has a transparent strategy to ensure that it provides appropriate access for all its members, including transport, access to ICT, care requirements etc

The table below shows the indicators of best practice that the local authorities used to measure themselves against question one. Next to these are the figures showing how they assessed themselves using the traffic lights system outlined in the previous chapter. The total number of authorities that responded in each way is shown in brackets, while the percentage figures give an overall impression of how well each key indicator is being met â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this will be the layout across all of the following chapters.

Green

Amber

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 12.9% 70 87.2% (9)

48.6% (34)

38.6% (27)

50.0% (35)

47.1% (33)

2.9% (2)

97.1%

55.7% (39)

37.1% (26)

7.1% (5)

92.8%

46.4% (32)

47.8% (33)

5.8% (4)

94.2%

73.9% (51)

23.2% (16)

2.9% (2)

97.1%

57.1% (40)

35.7% (25)

7.1% (5)

92.8%

In order for any YVV to hold credible sway as a representative body it must be truly reflective of the youth population of the local authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s area. In order to achieve this there are a number of steps that must be taken, these include; a transparent election/recruitment process with a substantial voter turnout; ensuring the YVV represents the full diversity of the local youth population; that any barriers to access posed by young peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s particular needs are overcome and that academic institutions in the area support both its elections and campaigns. As can be seen from the above data the vast majority of local authorities have mechanisms in place to ensure that their YVVs are representative. In total, around 94% indicated they were achieving, to some extent, all of the best practice indicators. It is also very positive to see that an overwhelming majority of local authorities are achieving very highly in terms of ensuring that YVV meetings are accessible to all young people, and especially those with particular needs. A clear pattern is evident across the other key indicators and it shows there is a fairly even split between those local authorities that are achieving very highly against these indicators and those that feel there is still some room for improvement. Far from being a negative, this shows they are realistically assessing their current situation and acknowledging that there is still more they can be doing. This is, after all, the first step towards improving their systems and services.

QUESTION 2: IS THE YVV ACCOUNTABLE TO THE YOUTH POPULATION IN THE AUTHORITY?

Indicators of best practice

Green

Amber

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 7.2% 69 92.8% (5)

The YVV produces an annual manifesto/work plan, endorsed by supporters/ members

55.1% (38)

37.7% (26)

The YVV regularly consults with young people on priorities and significant issues

64.3% (45)

31.4% (22)

4.3% (3)

95.7%

The YVV regularly liaises with other youth forums (e.g. district forums, special interest groups)

51.4% (36)

38.6% (27)

10.0% (7)

90.0%

The YVV has a clear Communications Strategy (which includes regular publication of priorities and achievements, website regularly updated with interactive consultation opportunities, creative and appropriate use of new social media to promote the activities of the YVV, mailing list of supporters/member organisations who are regularly asked for their views, engaging with schools, colleges and academies, annual report on activities, agreed protocols for media engagement by YVV, targets for positive media mentions for YVV activities)

27.5% (19)

62.3% (43)

10.1% (7)

89.8%

When we talk about accountability what we are really examining is how answerable the YVVs are to the local youth population. The ways to ensure that they are accountable is to have them produce a manifesto on which the youth population has had their say, to regularly consult with young people regarding key issues and priorities, to liaise with other youth groups and to regularly publish their priorities and achievements. This then allows the local authority’s youth population to see what the YVV’s goals are and to see how effectively they are achieving them. Regular consultation with them then gives them the opportunity to raise any concerns, or indeed support needs, with them. There is, again, an overriding sense that the majority of local authorities (around 92%) have systems in place to try and facilitate these things being achieved. There is, however, one area that the local authorities have themselves identified as something that they feel needs improvement and that is the communication strategy of the YVVs. There are a large number of examples given within the key indicator for this, including such things as having their ‘website regularly updated with interactive consultation opportunities’ and ‘targets for positive media mentions for YVV activities’. The impression given by these self assessments is that although the vast majority of local authorities have systems in place to fulfil some of these aims, they are yet to put something in place to address all of them. One of the real keys to ensuring that the YVVs are accountable to the youth population is to facilitate regular consultations between the two. This is an area where majority of local authorities felt they were performing particularly well. It is in this type of environment that young people are able to have their voice heard in terms of the YVV’s general priorities and individual issues as well as allowing the YVVs to feedback about their plans.

QUESTION 3: HOW INDEPENDENT IS THE YVV?

The YVV has terms of reference or a constitution which states that it is an independent body with young people as elected officers. Its constitution enables it to campaign on issues that may not be priorities for the local authority

51.4% (36)

28.6% (20)

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 20.0% 70 80.0% (14)

The YVV has its own bank account and is responsible for managing its budget. It generates income to support its campaigns from a number of sources

27.1% (19)

28.6% (20)

44.3% (31)

55.7%

The YVVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s communications strategy enables it to manage its own media relations, independent of the local authority

20.3% (14)

36.2% (25)

43.5% (30)

56.5%

Indicators of best practice

Green

Amber

The reason that independence is of such importance is that the most effective YVVs are independent ones. This is an area where there may be disputes and tensions with local authorities so it is very important to have discussions on the level of independence of the YVV. There are certain key indicators that have been included that may not be as self explanatory as others. For example, the reason to arrange for a bank account for YVVs is that it gives young people the opportunity to raise money through applying for grants and taking part in fundraising activities. The YVV can then spend the money on what it thinks is important. The issue of independence is where there is the largest scope for improvement. It is, in fact, the only area where the largest percentages of local authorities fail to have something in place for one of the key indicators. Around 44% of them indicated that the YVVs in their area didn’t have their own bank account and associated responsibilities for their budget. Around the same number said that their YVV’s communications strategy didn’t enable them to manage their own media relations. However, if you combine the green and amber responses we still find that the majority of local authorities have at least some mechanism in place to facilitate these aims – even if they feel there is room for improvement. This is also not to say that local authorities felt that every aspect of their YVV’s independence was in need of improvement (or initial implementation). As can be seen from the above data the largest percentage of local authorities indicated they had a system in place, with supporting evidence, for allowing the YVV to campaign independently on issues that may not otherwise be a priority for the local authority.

QUESTION 4: DOES THE YVV RECEIVE SUFFICIENT SUPPORT FROM THE LOCAL AUTHORITY TO ENABLE IT TO FULFIL ITS ROLE?

Indicators of best practice

Green

Amber

The YVV determines the support it needs in order to effectively represent the voice of young people, and has negotiated a support package with the local authority

69.6% (48)

21.7% (15)

The local authority demonstrates its commitment to hearing the voice of young people

56.5% (39)

34.8% (24)

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 8.7% 69 91.3% (6)

8.7% (6)

91.3%

Support can be provided in a number of different ways, not just financially. It could be that the local authority is happy to offer meeting space and office accommodation for the YVV. This is in-kind support and can cover lots of other things such as phones, access to email and equipment. Often the support young people in the YVV find most useful is that of experienced and skilled youth workers. Youth workers can support the development of the YVV, run elections, act on decisions made by young people, make sure young people have information and are aware of opportunities available to them. As well as supporting the YVV organisation, youth workers can give support to individuals, depending on their needs, to help them play a full part in the YVV. A youth worker can deliver the training young people may need to understand how to be a good representative and make the YVV work. The local authority may offer the expert help of other council officers to help young people make decisions. Often local authorities have good relationships with other organisations which run services used by young people such as the National Health Service or the Police. The local authority can support the YVV to make their own relationships with these organisations. With this in mind it is very positive to find that around 91% of local authorities are, to some extent, meeting the indicators that demonstrate sufficient support. It is also an area where a clear majority of local authorities feel that they are in fact performing particularly well, with a much smaller percentage feeling that there is still room for improvement.

QUESTION 5: HOW MUCH POLITICAL AND SENIOR-LEVEL BUY-IN FROM THE LOCAL AUTHORITY IS IN PLACE?

Indicators of best practice

Green

Amber

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 5.9% 68 94.1% (4)

The local authority has an overall strategy for listening to the views of children and young people, which goes beyond the Directorate for C&YP Services, recognising young people as having a voice in wider community matters

54.4% (37)

39.7% (27)

The local authority identifies a ‘Youth Voice Champion’ at elected member level to meet regularly with the YVV and be a first point of contact for YVV strategic concerns

47.8% (33)

39.1% (27)

13.0% (9)

86.9%

The local authority invites the YVV to ‘youthproof’ policy changes to assess their impact on young people

21.7% (15)

58.0% (40)

20.3% (14)

79.7%

The local authority commissions a package of support (in kind and financial) with the YVV to provide effective representation of young people’s voice

55.9% (38)

35.3% (24)

8.8% (6)

91.2%

The local authority encourages dialogue with young people through the YVV, going beyond its statutory duties to consult

57.6% (38)

36.4% (24)

6.1% (4)

94.0%

The Government has signed up to the United Nations convention on the rights of the child, and through statutory guidance and Positive for Youth has set out guidelines for local authorities to follow to make sure they listen to young people and involve them in decision making. Local authorities can demonstrate their support for young people by having a strategy for listening to them. Some local authorities have an elected member or senior officer who acts as a young people’s champion and is the link between the YVV and the elected members. Having a champion at the heart of decision making can make a big difference to how much young people are listened to and to how much power and influence they have. When policies are written or changed a local authority may ask young people to ‘youth-proof’ it. ‘Youth-proofing’ involves young people having a say in how policies developed by local authorities and other organisations affect them. It helps make sure that the needs of young people are considered alongside those of other members of the community. Political and senior level buy-in is vital if the YVVs are going to have a real and sustained impact on their local area, and as such it is again very encouraging to find that the majority of local authorities (around 89%) have at least some mechanism in place to meet all of the key indicators. This is not to say that they have yet reached the ideal in this area though; an average of 42% of them feel that each of the areas indicated have some room for improvement, with a 58% majority feeling that more could be done to invite YVVs to ‘youth proof’ policy changes. As has been mentioned before, however, this should not be seen as a negative but instead as an inevitable step towards producing a system where there is substantial or full political and senior level buy-in across the board.

QUESTION 6: HOW MUCH POWER AND INFLUENCE DOES THE YVV HAVE?

Indicators of best practice

Green

Amber

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 14.5% 69 85.5% (10)

30.4% (21)

55.1% (38)

36.2% (25)

50.7% (35)

13.0% (9)

86.9%

There is a clear decision making process, in which recommendations from the YVV are given serious consideration, and where they cannot be implemented the local authority provides a written explanation of the reasons

31.9% (22)

37.7% (26)

30.4% (21)

69.6%

The YVV has a representative role with statutory bodies beyond the local authority, including police and health authorities

30.9% (21)

51.5% (35)

17.6% (12)

82.4%

The YVV and/or associated young people’s organisations have a clearly articulated role as a partner in all aspects of commissioning services for young people, Grant aid decisions for youth facilities, Scrutiny/review of council services, ‘Youth-proofing’ new policies, Shadowing Cabinet members and senior council officials The local authority involves the YVV as a partner in multi-agency local strategies that affect young people (e.g. transport strategies)

The words ‘power’ and ‘influence’ are often used together but they are subtly different, and in this context influence means that young people have the capacity to have an effect on the development, or behaviour, of someone or something, as opposed to having the direct power to make a decision. For example the YVV may have the power and ability to make formal decisions on certain issues such as grant giving. Conversely, they may not have direct decision making responsibilities for other areas, such as youth transport policies, but they may be able to exert significant influence on those that do make these decisions The defined role of a YVV could include grant aid decisions, scrutinising council policy or being involved in commissioning. This should be an agreed role and could be part of the constitution or terms of reference of the YVV so that it is transparent and clear about the right of a YVV to make independent decisions. In terms of a having a clearly defined role and being included as a partner in all aspects of commissioning services for young people there is plenty of room for improvement. At present only 30% of local authorities feel this is an area in which they are performing particularly well, with 55% feeling there is room for improvement. The remaining 15% have nothing in place to facilitate this at all. It is also important that young people are given feedback on the results of decisions that they have contributed to so they understand the rationale. Young people often complain of the ‘consultation black hole’ where they give information and views and then never hear anything back. This is an area that appears to still be in need of some improvement. Around 68% of local authorities admit that they either have nothing in place to guarantee this or that what they have in place is in need of improvement. Although there does appear to be plenty of room for improvement in terms of the YVV’s power and influence, it is a positive sign that around 81% of local authorities have at least some system in place to ensure that the YVVs can exercise suitable power and influence. Their willingness to acknowledge that there is room for improvement demonstrates their commitment to working towards a system where their YVVs exert sufficient power and influence.

QUESTION 7: WHAT IMPACT DOES THE YVV HAVE ON POLICIES AND SERVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE?

Indicators of best practice

Green

Amber

Percentage of LAs that have Total Red something in responsess place (Green + Amber) 21.7% 69 78.3% (15)

The YVV and local authority conduct regular surveys of young people and periodic evaluations to assess the impact of YVV involvement

40.6% (28)

37.7% (26)

The local authority is able to identify differences that have been made as a result of YVV involvement

39.1% (27)

46.4% (32)

14.5% (10)

85.5%

More positive coverage of young people’s concerns in the local media

47.8% (33)

43.5% (30)

8.7% (6)

91.3%

Future plans for the YVV build on the feedback received about their impact on young people’s lives

43.3% (29)

46.3% (31)

10.4% (7)

89.6%

Closely linked to the idea of power and influence, and in fact a good indicator of those attributes, is what impact YVVs have on policies and services. Impact means the effect and or influence that an activity or process has had on young people. Young people will want to know how strong and significant their impact has been, funders will certainly want to know and so will the local authorities or organisations the YVV has worked with. We can again see from this data that the overwhelming majority of local authorities (around 86%) have some sort of strategy and systems in place to try and ensure that their YVVs have an impact on policies and services. Although a cursory glance may give the impression that there are a lot of areas in need of improvement, it is actually a pretty equal split between those that have room for improvement and those that are already working at a high standard. The data also shows that, of all of the outcomes, the highest number of local authorities felt they were performing at the highest level in terms of conducting regular surveys to assess the impact of YVV involvement. The reason that this is such an encouraging sign is this is the first step that all local authorities will need to take to enact changes which will ensure their YVVs are having a strong, positive and continued impact on the policies and services which are aimed at young people in their area.

APPENDICES

Appendix One Below is a list of all of the local authorities that took part in the self assessment:

Barking & Dagenham Barnet Bath and North East Somerset Bedford Blackpool Bracknell Forest Brighton & Hove Buckinghamshire Calderdale Central Bedfordshire Cornwall Croydon Darlington Devon Doncaster Dorset Ealing East Riding of Yorkshire East Sussex Gloucestershire Hammersmith & Fulham Hampshire Hartlepool Havering Hertfordshire Hillingdon

Isles of Scilly Islington Kent Kingston Upon Hull, City of Kingston upon Thames Kirklees Lancashire Leeds Leicestershire Lincolnshire Luton Manchester Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Newcastle upon Tyne North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Tyneside Northumberland Oldham Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Reading Rochdale Sandwell

Somerset Southwark Staffordshire Stockton-on-Tees Sutton Swindon Thurrock Torbay Tower Hamlets Trafford Wandsworth Wigan Wiltshire Windsor & Maidenhead Wokingham Wolverhampton Worcestershire York

Appendix Two Case studies There are a number of detailed case studies from local authorities which took part in this research on the British Youth Council’s website: www.byc.org.uk/uk-work/support-for-local-authorities/youth-voice-vehicles Representative • How Hillingdon ensures that all young people are represented by the youth council. Accountability • How YVVs in Wiltshire and Sandwell consult with and involve local young people on important issues. Independence • How York and Tower Hamlets ensure their YVVs have independence from the local authority. Support • How Islington supported its youth council through an election process. Political and senior buy in • How Doncaster ensures its youth council has political and senior level buy in from the local authority. Power and influence • How Bedford involves its YVVs in strategic decision making. Impact • How Poole ensures its YVV has an impact on the lives of young people.

Appendix Three A Snapshot of Participation Mechanisms in Local Authorities

Method used LA wide initiatives: Youth Council/Forum/Cabinet (LA wide) UK Youth Parliament Young Mayor Total LAs that have at least one of these in place: Legislatively required initiatives: Children in Care Council Specialist initiatives: LGBTQ Forums Healthwatch Health Forum Anti Bullying group LA wide school pupil forum BME Forum Youthbank/YOF Scrutiny panels Young disabled forum Young Asylums/Refugees Forum Young Carers Forums Housing/Tenants Forums CAHMHS/Mental Health group Commissioning Youth club forums Young Inspectors Child Trust Boards Police Youth Forum Total LAs that have at least one specialist initiative in place: (Survey carried out June 2012)

Total number of responses

Percentage of LAs currently utilising this method 92% 92% 18% 100%

96%

23% 14% 13% 9% 20% 10% 6% 17% 53% 4% 24% 12% 10% 14% 22% 25% 17% 8% 84%

100

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