NCVYS STRATEGIC INFORMATION SERVICE BULLETIN NO. 457
18 September 2009

Strengthening local democracy
NCVYS has submitted a response to Community and Local Government's (CLG) consultation on community empowerment and local democracy which considers local scrutiny and strategic arrangements, and local authorities' (LA) role in tackling climate change. NCVYS recommendations include that LA commissioning arrangements should consider the needs and the capacity of the voluntary and community youth sector and that councils should provide long-term, bottom-up funding streams to encourage sector growth.
http://www.ncvys.org.uk/index.php?alias=cce

Hate crime
The Home Office has published Hate Crime - The cross-government action plan which sets out the challenges of tackling hate crime. Focus on young people within the plan includes the role education can play by teaching young people about citizenship and diversity. It also highlights work by the Department for Communities and Local Government to address hate crime through its work on community cohesion and hate crime prevention programmes that bring young people together to tackle prejudices and build relationships.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/hate-crime-action-plan/

Vetting and barring scheme
The Department for Children's, Schools and Families has released an audio file of Children's Minister Baroness Delyth Morgan talking about the vetting and barring scheme. The speech includes comment on how Government is working with the voluntary and community sector and what impact the scheme will have on volunteers.
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/news/content.cfm?landing=delyth_morgan_answers_questions_on_the_vetting_and_barring_scheme&type=1

Vetting and barring scheme review
The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, has announced a review of the vetting and barring scheme will take place following concern that people will have to register unnecessarily. Sir Roger Singleton, Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority, will lead the review and produce a report by the beginning of December. The review will not affect the 12 October 2009 date for the extension of the range of activities and workplaces from which individuals may be barred.
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/938579/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin

Youth Justice Board review
The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have announced that there will be a review of the Youth Justice Board's (YJB) governance and operating arrangements. Dame Sue Street, former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Frances Done, Chair of the YJB, will jointly chair the review which will examine YJB powers, levers, accountabilities and capacity. The joint Chairs are calling for written evidence. Deadline for submissions is 11 November 2009.
http://www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/News/ReviewofYJBGovernanceandOperatingArrangements.htm?area=AllNewsEvents

Child protection plan statistics
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has released statistics that show there has been an 11% increase in the number of children subject to child protection plans in the last year. Figures rose from 34,000 in the year ending 31 March 2008 to 37,900 in the year ending 31 March 2009.
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000873/index.shtml

Toolkit for advice and guidance to vulnerable young people
As part of its Link Up, Link In campaign, HM Government has launched an online toolkit designed to help public sector workers offer advice and guidance to vulnerable young people, such as young care leavers. The toolkit recognises the need for joined-up working between the public and voluntary and community sector, and features practical case studies of projects that provide advice and guidance to young people.
http://www.hmg.gov.uk/linkuplinkin.aspx

Conservatives policy on the surveillance state
The Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve has launched a policy paper Reversing the rise of the surveillance state which sets out plans to reduce the role of surveillance and protect the public's privacy. The paper proposes fewer central databases and stronger duties on Government to keep private information safe. Proposals include the scrapping of ContactPoint.
http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2009/09/Reversing_the_rise_of_the_surveillance_state.aspx

Lib Dem plan to protect children
Annette Brooke MP, the Lib Dem Shadow Children's Spokesperson, has launched plans to make children safer and ease the burden on social workers. Proposals, that will be debated at the Party's Annual Conference, include scrapping ContactPoint, encouraging child protection professionals to gain experience working with social workers and enforcing the publication of an annoymised version of Serious Case Reviews.
http://www.libdems.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?title=Annette_Brooke_launches_policy_paper_to_protect_children&pPK=ad47860c-abd7-40a6-a4ba-10cc98a8d4b6

Lib Dem plan to tackle the fiscal crisis
Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable MP, has launched a draft plan setting out proposals for tackling the fiscal crisis. Published by the think tank Reform, the plan highlights the urgent need to tackle unemployment among young people under 25 and calls for ‘active, albeit temporary, government measures to absorb the unemployed in productive activities'.
http://www.libdems.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?title=Vince_Cable_launches_%E2%80%98Tackling_the_Fiscal_Crisis%3a_A_recovery_plan_for_the_UK%E2%80%99&pPK=5008d809-1287-40de-92e0-e0b9b7bc646d

Saving public money
The Institute of Directors, in conjunction with The Tax Payers' Alliance, has published a report recommending that Government should save money by scrapping Sure Start, ContactPoint and Building Schools for the Future. The report also calls on Government to abandon plans to extend the school leaving age to 18 and scrap the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
http://www.iod.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/GBP/BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=KRGzFEk9_RIOzgOXJ2i5guH9u2HAshp7Urw=?ChannelID=2&MenuID=15&CategoryName=PubEconomy

Youth advice workforce
Youth Access has published a report calling for reform within the youth advice workforce. The report states that many existing qualifications are either not relevant to working with young people or are focussed on careers information, advice and guidance. The report urges for action directed not only at dedicated youth advice workers, but the wider youth workforce.
http://www.youthaccess.org.uk/news/advice-workers.cfm

Comprehensive Area Assessment
The Local Government Association has published Comprehensive Area Assessment: How is it measuring up so far? Based on feedback from council leaders, the paper summarises views on the implementation of Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) and explores some of the implications for the future. The report suggests that implementation needs to improve if CAA is to be a useful tool in helping council leaders drive improved outcomes in their area.
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=3883910

Downing Street talent reception
Prime Minister Gordon Brown hosted a talent reception at Downing Street. Guests included young people who had benefited from the work of the Government's Talent and Enterprise Task Force. A representative of ENVOY, NCVYS's national youth forum, attended the event which featured a performance by Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj1CQaPsZ74

Child and youth imprisonment
The Prison Reform Trust has published Reducing child imprisonment in England and Wales - lessons from abroad. The report identifies successful international approaches to reducing child and youth imprisonment and cutting crime. The report also looks at how policymakers in Canada and New York responded to costly and damaging levels of youth custody by completely rethinking their approach to dealing with youth crime.
http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/standard.asp?id=1933

Commissioning children's services
The Local Government Association and the Children's Services Development Group have published In it together: achieving quality outcomes for young people with complex needs. The report provides best practice examples of partnership working between local authority commissioners and providers of care and education services for children with complex and challenging needs, including foster care and education services for children with learning difficulties.
http://www.csdg.org.uk/images/pdfs/Inittogether_September2009.pdf

Children and young people's wellbeing
Action for Children and nef (New Economics Foundation) have published Backing the Future: Why investing in children is good for us all. The report calls on Government to invest in preventative services for children and young people and shows that investment in children's wellbeing is in the public interest both in terms of effective use of public resources and delivery of improved social outcomes.
http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=561

Teenagers and technology
Cranfield School of Management has published research into technology addiction among teenagers, stating that it is having a disruptive effect on their learning. Over a third of 11-18 year olds surveyed admitted that text shortcuts damaged the quality of their written English, particularly in terms of spelling. The survey also found that access to technologies occurs at an early age, e.g. use of the internet starts between the ages of five and ten.
http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/som_applications/somapps/contentpreview.aspx?pageid=679&apptype=news&id=451

Mobile youth facilities survey
This is a final reminder to take part in the National Children's Bureau and Business in the Community, with NCVYS, survey on mobile youth facilities. The survey aims to find out more about where there are/or have been mobile youth facilities offering ‘things to do' with young people, particularly those who do not usually rush to the doors of fixed youth facilities. This is not about buses that simply take young people somewhere, but about mobile facilities on which young people engage in activities. If you have something to share, please answer this quick click, seven-question survey or pass it on to someone who can.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=CrY0YtusuHL7uu2QYhZpaA_3d_3d

THIS WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

Detention of immigrant children
The Home Affairs Committee met to hear evidence on the subject of detention of children in the immigration system. Witnesses included Sir Al Aynsley-Green, Children's Commissioner for England and the Children's Society. Video and audio from the session is available on the Parliament website.
http://news.parliament.uk/2009/09/home-affairs-committee-takes-evidence/