New inquiry announced: Services for young people

The Education Committee is today announcing an inquiry into the provision of services beyond the school/college day for young people, primarily those aged 13-25.

The inquiry will consider both universal services – for instance youth clubs, or sporting, musical and cultural activities – and targeted services for vulnerable groups. Please note that this inquiry will not examine formal careers guidance services, including those provided by Connexions.

Written submissions are invited, addressing the following points:

• The relationship between universal and targeted services for young people;
• How services for young people can meet the Government’s priorities for volunteering, including the role of National Citizen Service;
• Which young people access services, what they want from those services and their role in shaping provision;
• The relative roles of the voluntary, community, statutory and private sectors in providing services for young people;
• The training and workforce development needs of the sector;  
• The impact of public sector spending cuts on funding and commissioning of services, including how available resources can best be maximised, and whether payment by results is desirable and achievable;
• How local government structures and statutory frameworks impact on service provision; and
• How the value and effectiveness of services should be assessed.

The Committee asks for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines below by noon on Wednesday 15 December 2010.

Further Information:

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to educom@parliament.uk and marked “Services for young people inquiry”. The Committee’s strong preference is for submissions in electronic form, although hard copy originals will be accepted and should be sent to Kathryn Smith, Committee Assistant, at:

Education Select Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London, SW1P 3JA

Each submission should:

• be no more than 3,000 words in length;
• have numbered paragraphs; and
• (if in electronic form) be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

For Data Protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please supply a postal address so that a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

View a guide for written submissions to Select Committees.

Please also note that:

• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organization submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, although not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
• The Committee does not normally investigate individual cases.