involving young people in decision making a survey of local authorities research briefing 10 August 2001

Transcription

1 involving young people in decision making a survey of local authorities research briefing 10 August 2001

2 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 Fax LGA code F/SR039 ISBN

3 Contents Page Executive summary 3 Background and policy context 5 Survey results 6 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

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5 Executive summary 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. 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. Responsibility for involving young people The aim of the survey was to measure current local authority activity in involving young people in their decision making. In almost all authorities that responded, it is education departments that have initiated young people s involvement exercises; A questionnaire was sent to the chief executives in all 410 local authorities in England and Wales in March 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 s 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; 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. Reasons for involving young people 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; More than nine out of 10 s 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. Impact on decision making 3

6 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 threequarters had also involved young people in education, leisure and community safety. Profile of young people involved Methods The most popular method for involving young people in decision making was through youth forums/s 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 lors. Local authorities were most likely to involve year olds (93 per cent of respondents) and year olds (86 per cent of respondents) in their decision making. Hard to reach young people 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. Evaluation Three out of 10 s 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. 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). 4

7 Background and policy context In recent years local s 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 s 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 s 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 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 % responded questionnaires County District London Metropolitan Unitary and Welsh Total

8 Survey results 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 s and metropolitan s that responded said they were currently working with young people. District s recorded the lowest figure. However, this is perhaps to be expected, as these s 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? Yes, we are currently working with young people Yes, we have worked with young people in the past No, but we are planning to County District London Metrop. Unitary & All Welsh unitary No Don t know

9 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 s this figure was 100 per cent. No s 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 in decision making increased or stayed the same? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh unitary All Increased Decreased Stayed the same Don t know 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 s 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? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh Unitary All Very important Quite important Neither important /Nor unimportant Not at all important Don t know

10 Authorities were asked to indicate what position they considered they were in, with regards to involving young people, from the following options: consulting young people; representing young people; involving young people in decision-making; involving young people in implementation; and young people taking the initiative. This question is linked with the continuum of involvement and participation included in the LGA/NYA publication, Hear by right: setting standards for the active involvement of young people in local democracy 1. Figure 1.1: Position one: Position two: Position three: Position four: Position five: being consulted representing decision-sharing implementing initiating Adults make key Young people Young people share Young people are Young people decisions but consult represent their peers responsibility for given responsibility generate ideas for young people. They and represent the decision-making with for a project and the action and make all take their views into youth view on an adults. outcomes. Staff the major decisions. account and give adult-initiated issue. advise and monitor. Adults are available feedback about Again adults take for consultation, but decisions and actions. views into account do not take charge. and give feedback about decisions and actions. 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 8

11 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 s 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? All Councils Unitary & Welsh Unitary Metrop. Borough London Borough District Council County Council 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Consulting young people Involving young people in decision making Young people taking the initiative Representing young people Involving young people in implementation Don t know 9

12 Reasons for involving young people 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 s 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 s 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 s. 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 in decision making? (Very important/quite important) County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh Unitary All To gain information on young people s views To improve service delivery To empower young people and give them a voice To increase young people s awareness of local government To meet statutory requirements To implement Article 12 of the UN Convention

13 Impact on decision making Sixty eight per cent of respondents felt that young people had some influence on the decisions made in particular areas. Across authority types, county s showed the highest level of response with nine out of 10 respondents choosing this response. Just over one quarter of s responding felt that young people had very little influence at all, the highest figures for this response coming from district s (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 your authority? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh unitary All None at all Very little influence Some influence in particular areas A great deal of influence Don t know

14 Responsibility for involving young people In almost all authorities that responded, education departments had initiated young people s involvement exercises. Metropolitan s showed the lowest level of education involvement at 89 per cent and London s the highest at 100 per cent. Over three-quarters of s said that social services departments and cultural and related services had initiated young people s involvement exercises and in almost 75 per cent of s, a corporate unit had initiated some activity. For metropolitan s and district s 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? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh unitary All Education* Social Services* Cultural & related services Corporate Unit Housing & related services** Environmental services Base: all responding authorities (211) * does not include district s (base 85) ** does not include county s (base 191) 12

15 Education departments were the most popular department for leading s work on young people s involvement, with 60 per cent of respondents citing them as taking a leading role. In half of all s that responded a corporate unit takes a leading role this figure rising to nearly 60 per cent in district s. Cultural and related services came in third with around a third of respondents citing this answer. (Table 4.2) Around one in five s already have a strategy in place for young people s public involvement, with another 29 per cent planning to develop one. Metropolitan and London s 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? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh Unitary All Education* Corporate Unit Cultural & related services Social Services* Environmental services Housing & related services** Base: all responding authorities (175) * does not include district s (base 68) ** does not include county s (base 160) Note columns may not total 100 per cent as in some s there is joint responsibility for leading work. 13

16 Table 4.3: does your authority have a young people s strategy? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh Unitary All Yes No No, but we plan to develop a strategy in the future Nearly nine out of 10 s who responded said that they involved other local service providers and voluntary groups in their work with young people. For the metropolitan s 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 young people? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh unitary All Yes No Don t know

17 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 s 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 s 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 s and 55 per cent for county s. Table 5.1: how have young people been involved in different ways in the decision making process? County District London Metrop. Unitary & Welsh unitary All They are involved in identifying problems/ issues of concern They are asked for ideas on developing new policies/services They are asked for ideas on changing policies/services They are involved in the monitoring or evaluating of services/policies They are involved in the delivery of services Other

18 Issues Respondents were asked which issues young people have been involved in within their authority. The response reflects the wide range of issues that s 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 s 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 % District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh authorities % All % % % % Youth services * Education* Leisure/recreation activities & facilities ** Community safety Social services* Environment (eg Local Agenda 21 initiatives) Health issues Public Transport* Housing** Budget setting * does not include district s (base 89) ** does not include county s (base 206) 16

19 Figure 6.1: what issues have you involved young people in/do you think it appropriate to involve young people in? Youth services * Leisure/recreation Education* Community safety Social services* Environmental Health issues Public transport* Housing** Budget setting Have been involved Appropriate to involve * does not include district s (base 89) ** does not include county s (base 206) 17

20 Profile of young people involved in local authority decision making 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 year olds (93 per cent of respondents) and year olds (86 per cent of respondents) in their decision making. Furthermore, 85 per cent of s said they frequently involve year olds and 62 per cent said they frequently involve year olds. Although two in three respondents reported to have involved year olds, only two in five said this age group was frequently involved. (Table 7.2 overleaf) Over one third of respondents from district s said they were involving young people aged 19-21, significantly lower than other types of authorities, for example county s (70 per cent). One fifth of all respondents said the involvement of year olds was frequent, the highest figure for this response coming from London s (36 per cent) and the lowest coming from district s (15 per cent). Authorities were least likely to involve young people aged (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 s public involvement exercises? County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh All Authorities years years years years years

21 Table 7.2: which of the following age groups are most frequently involved in the authority s public involvement activities? County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh All Authorities years years years years years

22 Hard to reach young people 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 s 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 s 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 involvement exercises? Young people who are excluded from school Looked after young people Young people from ethnic minority groups County District London Metrop. Unitary and All Welsh Authorities Young offenders Young people who are disabled Young carers Gay and lesbian young people Homeless young people Young travellers

23 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. contacted young people using advertising or word of mouth this figure rising to 50 per cent in metropolitan s. Only 18 per cent of authorities said they contacted young people through market research techniques. London s and district s recorded the lowest figures and county s the highest. County s 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 Table 9.1: how do you contact people to be involved in local authority involvement exercises? Through the work of youth services Through existing youth and community groups County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh All authorities Through schools Through advertising or word of mouth Through referrals from authority departments Through market research

24 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 s responding said they use youth forums/s 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 s. Metropolitan s and county s 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 s responded that they involve young people through use of service satisfaction surveys. Metropolitan s and unitary and welsh unitary authorities were most likely to use peer led research techniques and London s least likely. 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 s (64 per cent). (Table 10.2) Six out of 10 responding (excluding district s) 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 s. 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 s. 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). 22

25 Table 10.1: which of the following methods do you use to involve young people in decisions? County District London Metrop.bor ough Unitary and Welsh Authorities Youth forums/s Youth conferences Service satisfaction surveys Focus groups Consultation documents All Young people carry out research among their peers Public meetings Question & answer sessions Service user forums Complaints/suggestion schemes Interactive website and Citizens Panel Co-option/ committee involvement Issue forums Other opinion polls Visioning exercise Citizens juries Referendums

26 Table 10.2: what are the other ways in which your authority engages young people in democracy? Officers/lors visit schools Hosted activities such as debates, competitions, quizzes Promote volunteering opportunities to young people Currently developing materials for schools Initiated programmes /information campaigns to encourage voting Produce curriculum stimulus materials for schools County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh authorities All 24

27 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 s showed the lowest level of training for young people at 27 per cent and County s the highest at 75 per cent. (Table 11.1) Table 11.1: when involving young people in authority decisions, do participants undergo training prior to, or as part of, the initiative to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence to take part? County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh Authorities Yes No Don t know/no answer All 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 s provide training to staff. County s 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) 25

28 Table 11.2: does your authority provide staff support or training on involving young people in exercises? County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh authorities Yes No Don t know/no answer All Table 11.3: does your authority provide members support or training on involving young people in exercises? County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh All authorities Yes No Don t know/no answer

29 Evaluation Less than one in three authorities responded that they evaluate the impact of initiatives involving young people in decisions. For county s 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 decision making? County District London Metrop. Unitary and Welsh authorities Yes No Don t know/ no answer Base: all responding authorities All 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. 27

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