To: The Richard Commission
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BackgroundCanllaw Online is a not for profit limited company established to support and develop information services for young people in Wales. Canllaw Online uses youth work methodologies in the implementation of its work and ensures that opportunities for young people are educative, empowering, participative, expressive and underpinned by a commitment to equality of opportunity for all. |
In all its work Canllaw Online offers information
on each of the following areas:
Canllaw Online delivers an information entitlement project on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government to young people of school leaving age in Wales. There are approximately 35,000 young people in this cohort each year. |
There are seven main elements to the Canllaw
Online "Entitlement" Project:
A range of training packages relevant to the delivery of information services for young people. |
| In addition to this major initiative (the first of its kind in Europe) Canllaw Online is also involved in proposals looking at how new technologies can enhance information services for young people. The two major projects in this area are the "Credu" project being developed through a partnership with Fujitsu and s8080 and "Enlightening" through a partnership with Market Stream with the backing of the European Space Agency. |
InvitationOn the invitation of the Richard Commission to give evidence at its forthcoming evidence session in Cardiff, Canllaw Online was keen to ensure it used information it had collected through its regular consultation with young people and information service providers. In addition to this internal information Canllaw Online conducted a series of semi structured telephone interviews with face to face workers from a number of the information outlets across Wales. These centres were selected from the list of Canllaw Online registered Info outlets. In sampling them Canllaw Online was keen to ensure urban/rural, north/south, Welsh speaking/non Welsh speaking dimensions were considered. Eight interviews were held. |
| The interviews covered the following areas:
1) Government structures 2) Issues of particular relevance to young people including:
3) General or specific issues not noted above |
| Results
The results of these interviews along with some feedback from Canllaw Online’s internal research are presented here. 1) Government Structures There seems to be a major lack of understanding of the government structures in Wales and beyond. Some of the face to face workers admitted that they themselves were unsure of some of the responsibilities of the various strata of government. Indeed staff at Canllaw Online had realised previously their own confusion on the differences between the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government. |
| There seems to be a lack of understanding
of the electoral system generally.
There was a suggestion that many young people did not understand the differences between the levels of government at a local level, national level, UK level and European level. Within this there was confusion of the roles of the various institutions and elected members. It was stated that people did not understand the role of a mayor, the leader of the council, the differences between AMs, MPs and MEPs, committee structures, the differences in the different types of elections and the differences between paid officials and elected members. There seemed to be a consensus amongst those questioned that most young people did not have an interest in politics. Those questioned speculated that this may be because many of the young people they worked with came from homes where the parents also had a low interest or negative impression of politics. Some thought the lack of interest was through pure ignorance and lack of knowledge and understanding of the systems. Some felt that information was not presented to young people in an accessible way. One outlet explained that prior to one election they had collected all the manifestos of the main parties and presented for use by young people. It was seen that none of the information was used and that its presentation was overly complicated. One interviewee said that the various elections were held at different times and young people just did not understand the relevance of each. It was also stated that young people did not feel motivated to vote as they felt their vote would not count or would not make any difference. Where young people did have an interest in the political system it was where they had received some kind of support or training either through school or through involvement in youth fora. The representation of such fora was questioned. There were few suggestions as to how young people may become engaged and interested in politics but the main reason for lack of interest was that it did not seem relevant to young people. |
2) Issues
of particular relevance to young people including:
Health issues amongst young people seemed to fall into the following areas: Sexual health |
| Sexual health was of high relevance to
young people with a number of the outlets questioned offering
or developing their own sexual health clinics. Three of
the outlets questioned were participants in an Assembly
funded initiative for the free distribution of condoms.
This initiative was proving highly successful as young
people were able to get condoms that were not available
through GP surgeries in some cases and where the Family
Planning services could not meet the demand. There was
one example in a rural area where young people were unable
to get to Family Planning services within the opening
times because of transport issues. This initiative had
helped highlight to a number of information workers the
high level of ignorance amongst young people on sexual
health issues including sexually transmitted diseases.
These information workers were then able to raise awareness
amongst these young people on such issues. In Cardiff
also there was a cross reference with transport and accessing
services and also a lack of capacity to meet demand for
such services.
Mental health was an issue raised by some information workers. There was a clear identification of a lack of quality counselling services available to young people. It was felt that these services if in existence would prevent some longer mental health problems arising. Many of the information outlets were developing their own services. Drugs were an issue and there were a number of agencies working in this area. Drug problems also cross referenced with other factors such as mental health, employment and housing issues. One respondent highlighted the problem that some young people faced with continuous support with drug problems; some young people had been allocated to GPs for treatment but later had been issued notice and removed from patient lists. It was not clear as to the reasons whether they were financially influenced or other factors. |
Access to services was an issue that was
raised by some of those questioned. One clear example
was the lack of availability of NHS dentists. Young people
were able to access emergency treatment but were not able
to get regular treatment due to the lack of NHS services.
One of the centres where a face to face worker was interviewed had a high level of homelessness and housing queries. Housing issues included the types of housing available to young people and the money available to support young people with housing problems. One respondent said that many landlords would not accept tenants on housing benefit as there were often delays in receiving payments as a result of bureaucratic hold ups. It was identified by some of the respondents that they had to act as intermediaries and advocates for young people in finding what support was available. The information workers repeatedly stated it was often a long and drawn out process that was very complicated for young people to go through alone. Examples were given of where various public agencies had not fully informed young people of their rights and entitlements and it had taken the intervention of qualified workers to gain access to such information. |
Law and rights were areas where young people needed support. Information outlets offer that support in a variety of ways. Virtually all those interviewed felt that relationship between young people and police could be made better. The information respected the professional roles of the police but many suggested that for young people the police did not always seem approachable – this could be due to limited resources and commitment to other duties. Some suggested that if the police had more of a regular presence rather than just a presence when there was trouble it might help relationships. One respondent suggested the negative attitude towards the police was one gained from home environments where parents too had a similar attitude. Another respondent suggested a higher presence in school sessions at an early age so that young people could understand the roles of the police. Some also suggested that it was hard for young people to know individual officers as the officers covered such large areas. |
Money was perceived as an issue that affected a wide range of young people. The span of the issues raised ranged from a clear understanding of eligibility for Assembly Learning Grants through to problems within the benefit system. On the issue of funding for study the issue of student loans was raised and the fear that some young people had of such loans/debt and in some cases how this deterred them from continuing their education. Some respondents identified problems for young people when trying to move off benefits into work. It was stated that particularly for younger young people there was little incentive to move into training schemes and that some young people feared they would lose their benefit if they took up a place and if it did not work out would have difficulty in re- accessing a benefit. It was also stated that limitations on volunteering hours whilst on benefit hindered young people’s opportunities to gain work experience. There was one area where a "action teams for jobs" was in existence and was proving particularly be helpful in supporting young people into work. |
| There were several problems with young
people accessing benefits ranging from lack of awareness
of what is available and a perception that the system
and forms are over complicated through to perceived discrimination
inbuilt into the system. One respondent compared the differences
in benefit eligibility and levels in applicable amounts
for young people aged 16-17, 18-24 and 25+. This respondent
pointed to a single, able bodied age discrimination. For
those 16-17 to be eligible for benefit they have to be
estranged from their parents thus introducing a hurdle
to the process. For those 18-24 they have an entitlement
to a lower level of benefit than those 25+ despite their
necessary outgoings being of the same level.
The difficulty in accessing crisis loans and budgeting loans (eg if a young person had to buy an essential item that they could not afford like a pair of shoes) was highlighted and the fact that such money had to be repaid from a benefit which was already deemed the minimum necessary to live on. Another respondent pointed to a growing number of young people who had difficulties in accessing benefits following a breakdown in a relationship and where their new circumstances made them eligible for benefits. Some of the outlets pointed to the lack of budgeting awareness by some young people who had easy access to credit facilities without the means to pay for them. |
Transport issues for young people is a topic that Canllaw Online has been investigating for some time. Along with other youth organisations in Wales Canllaw Online has identified issues with transport infrastructure, accessibility and availability of services, health and safety issues regarding transport, cost of transport and negative perceptions of transport services by young people. The interviews with face to face workers within the information outlets confirmed these as issues and there were various examples cited of limited public services, poor quality services and poor co-ordination amongst travel providers. In city areas transport services were considered good. There was one example given of reduced travel fares given during the summer to young people in one area; this was welcomed and helped young people to be more mobile. There was recognition that transport issues were particularly acute in rural areas, but also in urban and valley areas there were problems. Also transport problems impacted on all areas of young people’s lives from education, employment and training through to leisure and social activities. |
| 3) General
or specific issues not noted above
General issues that were raised through the interviews revolved around the quality and accessibility of some public services. It was felt that they were not always young person friendly and did not present their information in ways that were accessible to all young people. Many of the information workers questioned saw themselves as crucial intermediaries in the navigation of the relevant public service systems. One respondent commented on the fact that often there were limited numbers of young people working in these agencies which made it even harder for some of the service users to respond to them. One specific issue that was raised by one respondent related to asylum seekers. The respondent said that due to their circumstances some asylum seekers although well qualified and able to work were unable to work and were forced to remain inactive often in poor quality bed and breakfast provision. This then negatively impacted on their mental health. The interviewee said that their centre received many enquiries from asylum seekers and pointed to the fact that often the centre was the only support available to them. |
SummaryThis report reflects some of the issues affecting young people in Wales as perceived by information workers across Wales through their daily interaction with young people. This report does not intend to be a scientific piece of research, but aims to offer a broader picture on some of these issues by encompassing some of the views of young people and information workers in Wales. |
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