Youth Engagement with Local Democracy
The Young Scrutiny Group Project
This review aimed to identify the most important issues surrounding youth democratic engagement in Hackney from the point of view of young people themselves. The topic of youth engagement encompasses many wide-ranging issues, and the time-span allotted to this review was only one week - Local Democracy Week. It was not possible, therefore, to give thorough consideration to all aspects of the topic. Instead, Scrutiny Group Members chose to use the review process to obtain an overview of the barriers to youth engagement and the various attempts being made by the Council and partner agencies to overcome those barriers, allowing them to identify the important issues as they saw them, in the context of their own experience.
Aged between 14 and 15, the seven young people that made up the Young Scrutiny Group brought a valuable perspective to the review topic and to the Scrutiny process. This exercise mirrored as closely as possible a Councillor-led Overview and Scrutiny review.
Evidence was gathered over a period of one week at four formal Scrutiny Group meetings. Members heard from and questioned a number of officers working within Electoral Services and Youth Services. Group Members also put questions to representatives from key partner agencies, such as the Learning Trust, and other external agencies, such as The Electoral Commission. In addition, the Group heard evidence from the Cabinet Member for Children's Services.
The Group was also keen to consult directly with young people themselves and to this end they ran a focus group with five Year 11 students. The Group designed a questionnaire aimed at young people, which was sent to all secondary schools in the borough. 135 of the 300 questionnaires were returned, which is considered to be an excellent response rate.
The Commission's Final Report
The Commissions made 7 recommendations. These focused on closer working between Youth Services and Electoral Services, improved provision of information about local democracy in PSHE and citizenship classes, wider use of social media, and guiding the development of the 'youth-led inspections project'.
Response from the Cabinet Member
Cllr Krishna (Cabinet Member for Children's Services) responded to the recommendations, and took the oppoertunity at the Full Council meeting to "commend the group for their enthusiasm and frankness. The Council was keen to involve young people in a variety of ways, and would be taking up all the recommendations in the report. She hoped the young people who had taken part in the group would continue to be involved, and paid tribute to the young people, and the schools and officers involved. The Speaker thanked the young people for attending". They accepted all recommendations.
Page updated: 18 Nov 2011
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