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involving young people in decision making

a survey of local authorities

research briefing 10August 2001

All rights reserved. Reproduction of this document is welcomed providing the

copyright holders are acknowledged and the text is not edited.

Copyright Local Government Association 2001

Published by LGA Publications, the Local Government Association

Local Government House, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ.

Tel. 020 7664 3000. Fax. 020 7664 3030.

LGA code F/SR039 ISBN 1 84049 254 6

Contents

Executive summary

Background and policy context

Survey results

Activity levels

Reasons for involving young people

Impact on decision making

Responsibility for involving young people

Policy stage

Issues

Profile of young people involved in local authority

decision making

Hard to reach young people

Recruitment

Methods

Support and training

Evaluation

Page

3

5

6

6

10

11

12

15

16

18

20

21

22

25

27

Executive summary

3

About the survey

This survey was carried out by the Local Government

Association (LGA) and the Institute for Public Policy

Research (IPPR).

This research is part of a wider project funded by the

Joseph Rowntree Foundation through the local

government advisory group.

The aim of the survey was to measure current local

authority activity in involving young people in their

decision making.

A questionnaire was sent to the chief executives in all

410 local authorities in England and Wales in March

2001. By the end of the fieldwork, in May 2001, 226

local authorities had responded, a response rate of 55

per cent.

Activity levels

• Over three quarters of local authorities that responded

to the survey said that they are currently working with

young people to involve them in decision making, with

a further 10 per cent saying they were planning to.

Nine per cent also said they had worked with young

people in the past;

• nearly 90 per cent of respondents said that the amount

of work they had done to involve young people in

decision making had increased over the past four

years.


• More than nine out of 10 councils responding, cited

gaining information on young people’s views and

improving service delivery as the most important

reasons for involving young people in decision

making.


• Nearly seven out of 10 respondents felt that young

people had some influence on the decisions made in

particular areas;

• just over one quarter of respondents felt that young

people had very little influence over decisions made by

the council.


• In almost all authorities that responded, it is education

departments that have initiated young people’s

involvement exercises;

• over three-quarters of councils said that social services

departments, cultural and related services or a

corporate unit had initiated some activity;

• in 50 per cent of authorities a corporate unit was

responsible for leading young people’s involvement

activities;

• one in five local authorities have a strategy in place for

young people’s involvement with a further 29 per cent

planning to introduce one;

• almost 90 per cent of respondents said they involved

local voluntary and other groups in their work with

young people.

Policy stage

• Almost 90 per cent of respondents involve young

people in identifying problems and issues of concern;

4

• around three-quarters also involve young people in

developing ideas on new policies and services.

Issues

• Youth services has been the area which has seen the

greatest amount of young people’s involvement with

over 90 per cent of respondents saying they had

involved young people in this issue. Around three-

quarters had also involved young people in education,

leisure and community safety.

Profile of young people involved

• Local authorities were most likely to involve 14-16 year

olds (93 per cent of respondents) and 17-18 year olds

(86 per cent of respondents) in their decision making.


• Seventy per cent of respondents said they had

involved one or more hard to reach groups of young

people. The most often involved groups were looked

after young people, young people excluded from

school, and young people from ethnic minority

communities.

Contacting young people

• The main methods of contacting young people were

through youth services (93 per cent), youth and

community groups (89 per cent) and schools (89 per

cent).

Methods

• The most popular method for involving young people

in decision making was through youth forums/councils

with over three-quarters of respondents saying they

used this method.

Training

• Four out of 10 respondents said they provided training

for young people to take part in involvement activities.

A similar number provide training for staff but only 12

per cent said they provided training for councillors.

Evaluation

• Three out of 10 councils said they evaluated the impact

of initiatives involving young people in decision making.

The most commonly used mechanisms for evaluation

were questionnaires and focus groups.

Background and policy context

5

In recent years local councils have taken steps to

promote young people’s involvement in decisions

about their lives and communities. Many government

policies and programmes, such as the Single

Regeneration Budget (SRB), the Connexions Service,

and Quality Protects, emphasise the need to involve

young people in their development and delivery. The

Local Government Act 2000 requires councils to

prepare ‘community strategies’ for promoting or

improving the economic, social and environmental well

being of their area. The involvement of local people is

central to the production of these community strategies,

with Welsh authorities expected to show that young

people were involved in this process.

This policy context means that local authorities are

increasingly looking at effective ways to engage and

involve young people in their decisions. The IPPR and

LGA are currently undertaking work in this area. IPPR

are developing a practical guidance note, aimed at

local authority officers and members, on good practice

in involving young people in decisions. The LGA, in

partnership with the National Youth Agency, have

recently developed standards for councils on involving

young people in democracy (see footnote on page 8)

As a result, the LGA and IPPR undertook a survey in

April 2001 to measure current local authority activity in

involving young people in decision making.

A questionnaire was sent to the chief executives in all

410 local authorities in England and Wales in March

2001. By the end of the fieldwork, in May 2001, 226

local authorities had responded, a response rate of 55

per cent.

Response rate by type of authority (%)

Authority Type Number of Authorities Number of returned

questionnaires

% responded

County 34 20 59

District 238 137 58

London borough 33 14 42

Metropolitan 36 20 56

Unitary and Welsh 69 35 51

Total 410 226 55

Survey results

6

Activity levels

Over three quarters of local authorities that responded

to the survey said that they are currently working with

young people to involve them in decision making, with

a further 10 per cent saying they were planning to.

Nine per cent also said they had worked with young

people in the past.

All county councils and metropolitan boroughs that

responded said they were currently working with

young people. District councils recorded the lowest

figure. However, this is perhaps to be expected, as

these councils do not have responsibility for education,

the youth service nor social services. (Table 1.1)

Table 1.1: does your authority work directly with young people to involve them in decision making?

Countycouncil

District council Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary &Welsh unitary

All

% % % % % %Yes, we are currently

working with young

people

100 66 79 100 92 77

Yes, we have worked

with young people in the

past

- 13 7 - 3 9

No, but we are planning

to- 14 7 - 6 10

No - 6 - - - 4

Don’t know - 1 7 - - 1

Base: all responding authorities (226)

7

Almost nine out of 10 respondents said that the amount

of work they had done to involve young people in

decision making had increased over the past four

years. For county, metropolitan and unitary councils

this figure was 100 per cent. No councils responded

that the amount of work had decreased. (Table 1.2)

Table 1.2: over the past four years has the amount of work you have done to involve young people indecision making increased or stayed the same?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Increased 100 82 86 100 100 88

Decreased - - - - - 0

Stayed the same - 13 7 - - 8

Don’t know - 5 7 - - 4


Councils were asked to state how much importance

they placed upon involving young people. More than

half of those who responded said it was very important,

with a further four out of 10 saying it was quite

important. County councils report the highest level of

importance with nine out of 10 respondents rating it

very important. Only one per cent of those who

responded thought that it was not at all important.

(Table 1.3)

Table 1.3: how much importance does your authority tend to place upon involving young people?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough

Unitary &Welsh Unitary

All

% % % % % %Very important 90 44 50 60 54 51

Quite important 10 45 36 35 37 39

Neither important /Norunimportant

- 8 7 5 9 7

Not at all important - 2 - - - 1

Don’t know - 2 7 - - 1


8

Authorities were asked to indicate what position they

considered they were in, with regards to involving

young people, from the following options: consultingyoung people; representing young people; involvingyoung people in decision-making; involving youngpeople in implementation; and young people takingthe initiative.

This question is linked with the continuum of

involvement and participation included in the LGA/NYA

publication, Hear by right: setting standards for theactive involvement of young people in localdemocracy1.

Figure 1.1:

Position one:being consulted

Position two:representing

Position three:decision-sharing

Position four:implementing

Position five:initiating

Adults make key

decisions but consult

young people. They

take their views into

account and give

feedback about

decisions and actions.

Young people

represent their peers

and represent the

youth view on an

adult-initiated issue.

Again adults take

views into account

and give feedback

about decisions and

actions.

Young people share

responsibility for

decision-making with

adults.

Young people are

given responsibility

for a project and the

outcomes. Staff

advise and monitor.

Young people

generate ideas for

action and make all

the major decisions.

Adults are available

for consultation, but

do not take charge.

Power moves to adults Power moves to young people

1 Hear by right: setting standards for

the active involvement of young people

in local democracy. (NYA/LGA, 2001,

LGA code F/84).

Copies available from LGA’s website

www.lga.gov.uk/blg/HearbyRight.pdf

9

Around half of respondents felt that they were at the

stage of consulting young people and a quarter felt that

they were involving young people in decision-making.

County councils were the only type of authority where

more respondents felt they were involving young

people in decision making than felt they were

consulting young people. (Figure 1.2)

Figure 1.2: where do you think your authority currently stands on involving young people?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

County Counci l

District Council

London Borough

Metrop. Borough

Unitary & Welsh Unitary

Al l Counci ls

Consult ing young people Representing young people

Involving young people in decision making Involving young people in implementation

Young people taking the init iative Don’t know


10


The survey asked respondents to indicate how

important a number of reasons for involving young

people in decision making were for their authority.

(Table 2.1)

More than nine out of 10 councils responding cited

gaining information on young people’s views and

improving service delivery as the most important

reasons for involving young people in decision

making. For metropolitan councils the most important

reason was to empower young people and give them

a voice with 95 per cent saying this was very or quite

important.

Meeting statutory requirements and implementing

Article 12 of the UN Convention on the rights of the

child, were seen as the least important reasons for

involving young people – especially in district councils.

A number of authorities offered other reasons for

involving young people in local decision making, the

ones most commonly cited were to increase the

awareness of democratic processes; to encourage

future active citizenship and voting; to develop young

people’s skills and to increase young people’s sense of

ownership of their local community.

Table 2.1: how important are the following reasons for your authority for involving young people indecision making? (Very important/quite important)

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %To gain information onyoung people’s views

85 93 100 90 100 93

To improve servicedelivery

95 86 100 90 97 90

To empower youngpeople and give them avoice

95 83 93 95 86 86

To increase youngpeople’s awareness oflocal government

80 83 86 77 80 82

To meet statutoryrequirements

80 54 79 65 66 61

To implement Article 12of the UN Convention

85 41 86 65 57 52


11


Sixty eight per cent of respondents felt that young

people had some influence on the decisions made in

particular areas. Across authority types, county

councils showed the highest level of response with

nine out of 10 respondents choosing this response.

Just over one quarter of councils responding felt that

young people had very little influence at all, the highest

figures for this response coming from district councils

(30 per cent) and unitary and Welsh unitary authorities

(29 per cent). (Table 3.1)

Table 3.1: on balance how much influence do you think young people have on decisions made by yourauthority?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %None at all - 4 - - 6 4

Very little influence 10 30 21 20 29 26

Some influence inparticular areas

90 64 79 75 66 68

A great deal of influence - 2 - - 1

Don’t know - 1 - 5 - 1


12


In almost all authorities that responded, education

departments had initiated young people’s involvement

exercises. Metropolitan boroughs showed the lowest

level of education involvement at 89 per cent and

London boroughs the highest at 100 per cent.

Over three-quarters of councils said that social

services departments and cultural and related services

had initiated young people’s involvement exercises

and in almost 75 per cent of councils, a corporate unit

had initiated some activity. For metropolitan boroughs

and district councils the department most likely to have

initiated involvement was cultural and related services.

(Table 4.1)

Table 4.1: which departments in your authority have initiated young people’s involvement exercises?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Education* 95 - 100 89 100 97

Social Services* 95 71 - 78 70 78

Cultural & relatedservices

55 83 64 94 67 77

Corporate Unit 65 74 64 83 76 74

Housing & relatedservices**

- 38 29 44 43 39

Environmental services 45 41 57 44 40 42


* does not include district councils (base 85)

** does not include county councils (base 191)

13

Education departments were the most popular

department for leading councils’ work on young

people’s involvement, with 60 per cent of respondents

citing them as taking a leading role. In half of all

councils that responded a corporate unit takes a

leading role – this figure rising to nearly 60 per cent in

district councils. Cultural and related services came in

third with around a third of respondents citing this

answer. (Table 4.2)

Around one in five councils already have a strategy in

place for young people’s public involvement, with

another 29 per cent planning to develop one.

Metropolitan and London boroughs were most likely to

have a plan already in place (45 per cent and 43 per

cent respectively) with districts being the least likely (16

per cent). (Table 4.3 overleaf)

Table 4.2: which department in your authority leads on young people’s involvement exercises?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Education* 67 - 62 58 57 60

Corporate Unit 47 59 31 42 29 50

Cultural & relatedservices

13 44 8 17 14 32

Social Services* 33 - 8 - 14 15

Environmental services 7 8 8 - - 6

Housing & relatedservices**

- 8 - - - 5




Note columns may not total 100 per cent as in some councils there is joint responsibility for leading work.

14

Table 4.3: does your authority have a young people’s strategy?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Yes 25 15 43 45 20 21

No 45 55 29 35 40 49

No, but we plan todevelop a strategy in thefuture

25 29 14 20 40 29


Nearly nine out of 10 councils who responded said that

they involved other local service providers and

voluntary groups in their work with young people. For

the metropolitan boroughs this figure rose to 100 per

cent. (Table 4.4)

Table 4.4: do you involve other local service providers and voluntary groups in your work with youngpeople?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Yes 90 86 93 100 86 88

No - 14 7 - 9 10

Don’t know 10 1 - - 5 2


15

Policy stage

Councils were asked to indicate the different ways in

which young people had been involved in the decision

making process. (Table 5.1)

The most popular stage at which to involve young

people is the identification of problems and issues, with

almost nine out of 10 authorities citing this response. All

London and metropolitan boroughs responding to this

question said they involved young people at this stage.

The next two most popular areas were the

development of ideas for new policies/services and for

changing existing policies/services.

Only one in four councils said they involved young

people in the delivery of services, although this figure

was much higher for London, metropolitan and unitary

authorities. Almost one in three involved young people

in monitoring and evaluating policies, a figure which

rose to 57 per cent for London boroughs and 55 per

cent for county councils.

Table 5.1: how have young people been involved in different ways in the decision making process?

Countycouncil


Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %They are involved inidentifying problems/issues of concern

90 84 100 100 97 89

They are asked for ideason developing newpolicies/services

80 66 79 95 86 74

They are asked for ideason changingpolicies/services

90 56 79 80 83 67

They are involved in themonitoring or evaluating ofservices/policies

55 20 57 30 49 31

They are involved in thedelivery of services

40 11 50 50 46 25

Other 5 7 14 10 26 10


16

Issues

Respondents were asked which issues young people

have been involved in within their authority. The

response reflects the wide range of issues that councils

are involving young people in with 94 per cent of

respondents citing youth services, and four fifths of

respondents stating education, leisure and community

safety. The issues that authorities have involved young

people in least are budget setting (nine per cent),

housing (27 per cent) and public transport (35 per

cent). (Table 6.1)

They were also asked what issues they thought it was

appropriate to involve young people in. Authorities

clearly thought that there were very few issues that it

was not appropriate to involve young people in. It is

noticeable that on the issue of budget setting councils

were not only less likely to involve young people on

this matter but also fewer respondents felt that this was

an appropriate issue for young people to influence.

Over two fifths of respondents (46 per cent) said it was

appropriate to involve young people in budget setting,

compared to 97 per cent who answered it was

appropriate to involve young people in leisure issues.

(Figure 6.1 overleaf)

Table 6.1: what issues have young people been involved in within your authority?

County council

%

Districtcouncil

%

Londonborough

%

Metrop.borough

%

Unitary and Welshauthorities%

All

%Youth services * 100 - 100 95 89 94

Education* 95 - 71 85 74 81

Leisure/recreationactivities & facilities **

- 88 88 64 66 81

Community safety 85 77 100 90 77 80

Social services* 95 - 57 60 60 79

Environment (egLocal Agenda 21initiatives)

70 64 71 60 63 65

Health issues 85 42 71 90 66 56

Public Transport* 60 - 21 35 46 35

Housing** 30 25 21 25 34 27

Budget setting 25 4 21 20 9 9




17

Figure 6.1: what issues have you involved young people in/do you think it appropriate to involve youngpeople in?

0

20

40

60

80

100

Yout

h se

rvice

s *

Leisu

re/re

creation

Educ

ation

*

Commun

ity sa

fety

Socia

l ser

vices

*

Envir

onmen

tal

Healt

h issu

es

Publi

c tra

nspo

rt*

Housin

g**

Budg

et se

tting

Have been involved Appropriate to involve




18

Profile of young people involved in local authority decisionmaking

Authorities were asked the ages of the young people

who are currently involved or have been involved in

their public involvement exercises. (Table 7.1) Local

authorities were most likely to involve 14-16 year olds

(93 per cent of respondents) and 17-18 year olds (86

per cent of respondents) in their decision making.

Furthermore, 85 per cent of councils said they

frequently involve 14-16 year olds and 62 per cent

said they frequently involve 17-18 year olds. Although

two in three respondents reported to have involved

10-13 year olds, only two in five said this age group

was frequently involved. (Table 7.2 overleaf)

Over one third of respondents from district councils said

they were involving young people aged 19-21,

significantly lower than other types of authorities, for

example county councils (70 per cent). One fifth of all

respondents said the involvement of 19-21 year olds

was frequent, the highest figure for this response

coming from London boroughs (36 per cent) and the

lowest coming from district councils (15 per cent).

Authorities were least likely to involve young people

aged 22-25 (28 per cent of respondents) and this

involvement was less likely to be frequent (nine per

cent of respondents).

Table 7.1: what are the ages of young people who are involved/have been involved in the authority’spublic involvement exercises?

Countycouncil

Districtcouncil

Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary and WelshAuthorities

All

% % % % % %10-13 years 70 66 64 65 63 66

14-16 years 100 89 93 95 100 93

17-18 years 95 80 100 90 97 86

19-21 years 70 37 71 80 77 52

22-25 years 35 20 57 45 37 28


19

Table 7.2: which of the following age groups are most frequently involved in the authority’s publicinvolvement activities?

Countycouncil

Districtcouncil

Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary and WelshAuthorities

All

% % % % % %10-13 years 40 45 21 30 34 40

14-16 years 100 82 71 95 86 85

17-18 years 70 53 57 80 86 62

19-21 years 25 15 36 25 29 20

22-25 years 5 8 29 10 9 9


20


Respondents were asked which excluded groups of

young people have been reached through

involvement exercises. A total of 157 authorities

responded that they involve one or more excluded

groups. (Table 8.1)

Nine out of 10 metropolitan boroughs responded that

they have involved young people from different ethnic

minority communities in their decisions, perhaps a

reflection of the ethnic diversity within their populations.

It is perhaps not surprising that district councils have

recorded low figures for involving certain excluded

groups, for example looked after young people, as

they do not have responsibility for education, social

services and youth services.

Those excluded groups least likely to be involved in

involvement activities were: young travellers (nine per

cent); gay and lesbian young people and homeless

young people (both 18 per cent).

Table 8.1: Which of the following excluded groups listed below have you involved in public involvementexercises?

Countycouncil

Districtcouncil

Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary andWelsh Authorities

All

% % % % % %Young people who areexcluded from school

70 26 50 80 49 40

Looked after youngpeople

95 15 57 85 74 40

Young people from ethnicminority groups

65 25 64 90 40 39

Young offenders 65 25 50 70 51 38

Young people who aredisabled

65 22 29 80 54 36

Young carers 65 8 21 50 43 23

Gay and lesbian youngpeople

45 6 21 40 37 18

Homeless young people 25 12 7 35 31 18

Young travellers 35 5 7 10 9 9


21

Recruitment

The survey results suggest that local authorities are

using a wide range of methods to recruit young people

for involvement initiatives. (Table 9.1)

Nearly nine out of 10 authorities responded that they

contact young people through youth and community

groups and through schools, with over 90 per cent

reporting that contact is through youth services.

County councils were most likely to have contacted

young people for involvement exercises through

referrals from other departments and through youth

services, 100 per cent and 65 per cent respectively.

Over one third of authorities responded that they

contacted young people using advertising or word of

mouth – this figure rising to 50 per cent in metropolitan

boroughs.

Only 18 per cent of authorities said they contacted

young people through market research techniques.

London boroughs and district councils recorded the

lowest figures and county councils the highest.

Table 9.1: how do you contact people to be involved in local authority involvement exercises?

Countycouncil

Districtcouncil

Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary and Welshauthorities

All

% % % % % %Through the work ofyouth services

100 - 86 90 94 93

Through existing youthand community groups

100 84 93 95 34 89

Through schools 90 88 64 90 97 89

Through advertising orword of mouth

35 33 36 50 43 36

Through referrals fromauthority departments

65 7 29 35 29 20

Through marketresearch

35 13 7 30 29 19


22

Methods

Councils were asked to indicate the different methods

they have used to involve young people in decisions.

(Table 10.1 overleaf)

Three quarters of councils responding said they use

youth forums/councils to involve young people in

decisions – this figure rose to 86 per cent for unitary

and Welsh unitary authorities and 90 per cent for

metropolitan boroughs. Metropolitan boroughs and

county councils were most likely to use focus groups

(76 per cent and 70 per cent respectively) with the

districts being the least likely (37 per cent).

Four fifths of county councils responded that they

involve young people through use of service

satisfaction surveys. Metropolitan boroughs and

unitary and welsh unitary authorities were most likely to

use peer led research techniques and London

boroughs least likely.

Overall the survey reveals the broad range of

mechanisms used by authorities to involve young

people in their decisions. Councils were least likely to

use referendums (three per cent), citizens’ juries (five

per cent) and visioning techniques (18 per cent).

The survey asked authorities to indicate other

mechanisms that they use to engage young people in

local democracy. Over half of authorities (56 per cent)

said their officers and/or members visit schools to

discuss the work of local authorities, the highest figure

for this response coming from district councils (64 per

cent). (Table 10.2)

Six out of 10 responding (excluding district councils)

said they were preparing materials or working with

schools to help them deliver aspects of the citizenship

education curriculum - this figure rising to 70 per cent in

county councils. One quarter of authorities said they

have initiated voting campaigns targeted at young

people aged 18 and over. Nearly half of authorities

(48 per cent) said they have hosted different activities,

such as debating competitions, to increase

understanding about councils.

23

Table 10.1: which of the following methods do you use to involve young people in decisions?

Countycouncil

Districtcouncil

Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary andWelshAuthorities

All

% % % % % %Youth forums/councils 80 70 79 90 86 76

Youth conferences 70 45 63 75 69 54

Service satisfaction surveys 80 39 50 70 63 50

Focus groups 70 38 64 80 60 50

Consultation documents 50 40 58 70 57 47

Young people carry outresearch among their peers

60 37 21 75 69 46

Public meetings 45 33 43 60 46 39

Question & answer sessions 35 31 50 70 43 38

Service user forums 55 16 57 55 49 31

Complaints/suggestionschemes

30 22 43 55 40 30

Interactive website and e-mail 40 27 29 25 40 30

Citizens Panel 30 23 43 40 37 29

Co-option/ committeeinvolvement

30 19 36 70 46 29

Issue forums 35 18 21 40 46 26

Other opinion polls 15 20 29 50 23 23

Visioning exercise 15 20 7 20 14 18

Citizens juries 10 4 7 - 6 5

Referendums - 2 7 5 3 3


24

Table 10.2: what are the other ways in which your authority engages young people in democracy?

County council Districtcouncil

Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary andWelshauthorities

All

% % % % % %Officers/councillors visitschools

35 64 21 45 54 56

Hosted activities such asdebates, competitions,quizzes

40 40 57 75 66 48

Promote volunteeringopportunities to youngpeople

60 24 64 75 57 40

Currently developingmaterials for schools

70 22 64 50 63 38

Initiated programmes/information campaigns toencourage voting

15 26 29 25 29 25

Produce curriculumstimulus materials forschools

30 15 29 40 34 22

25

Support and training

IPPR’s research on young people’s involvement in

decision making has so far identified the importance of

training or induction programmes for young people

taking part in involvement initiatives. To this end,

respondents were asked whether participants undergo

training prior to or as part of involvement initiatives to

develop their skills, knowledge and confidence to take

part.

Forty three per cent of authorities said that they

provide training for participants. District councils

showed the lowest level of training for young people at

27 per cent and County councils the highest at 75 per

cent. (Table 11.1)

Table 11.1: when involving young people in authority decisions, do participants undergo trainingprior to, or as part of, the initiative to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence to take part?


Londonborough

Metrop.borough

Unitary andWelsh Authorities

All

% % % % % %Yes 75 27 71 70 60 43No 15 58 14 25 31 45Don’t know/no

answer

10 15 14 5 9 12


IPPR’s research suggests that adults may need to

undertake training to improve dialogue with young

people. Authorities were asked if they provide officers

and members with support or training on involving

young people in decisions. One in four councils

provide training to staff. County councils and

metropolitans were most likely to have training for staff

in place (80 per cent and 70 per cent respectively).

(Table 11.2 overleaf)

However, authorities were much less likely to provide

elected members with training on involving young

people in decisions – 12 per cent of respondents. For

unitary and Welsh unitary authorities this figure rose to

20 per cent. (Table 11.3 overleaf)

26

Table 11.2: does your authority provide staff support or training on involving young people in exercises?


Londonborough

Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Yes 80 28 43 70 54 41No 10 63 43 15 37 49Don’t know/no answer 10 10 14 15 9 10Base: all responding authorities (226)

Table 11.3: does your authority provide members support or training on involving young people inexercises?

County council District

council

London

borough

Metrop.

borough

Unitary and Welsh

authorities

All

% % % % % %Yes 15 10 7 20 20 12No 35 70 64 50 63 64Don’t know/no answer 50 20 29 30 17 24Base: all responding authorities (226)

27

Evaluation

Less than one in three authorities responded that they

evaluate the impact of initiatives involving young

people in decisions. For county councils this figure

increased to 55 per cent. For those carrying out

evaluations, the most popular methods were written

questionnaires (69 per cent of respondents) followed

by focus groups of young people involved (56 per

cent). Almost one in four authorities evaluated their

initiatives by interviewing the young people involved or

through staff observing group processes.

Table 12.1: has your authority evaluated the impact of initiatives involving young people in decisionmaking?


Londonborough

Metrop.borough


All

% % % % % %Yes 55 23 29 35 37 29No 35 73 64 60 57 66Don’t know/ no

answer

10 4 7 5 6 5

Base: all responding authorities 226

It is very noticeable that although 77 per cent of

authorities are currently working with young people to

involve them in decisions, only 30 per cent are

evaluating the process and impact of this involvement.

This finding mirrors other surveys and research that

shows the remarkable uptake in local government of

innovative and deliberative approaches to public

involvement has not been adequately accompanied by

formal mechanisms for evaluation. If authorities are to

learn from the experience of involving young people in

decisions, it is vital that they introduce a framework for

evaluating public involvement.

LGA code F/SRO39

ISBN 1 84049 254 6

234

For further information, please contact

the Local Government Association at:

Local Government House,

Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ

Telephone 020 7664 3000

Fax 020 7664 3030

Website www.lga.gov.uk

or telephone our general information hotline on020 7664 3131

For news and informationabout local government:visit www.local-government.net

Institute for Public Policy Research

30-32 Southampton Street

London WC2E 7RA

Telephone 020 7470 6100

Fax 020 7470 6111

Website www.ippr.org.uk

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