APPENDIX 27
Memorandum from Mr A Hopgood
Here are my views as a professional with experience
of managing London Youth Services for 30 years. I have answered
according to the questions listed in order:
1. I think that it has lost its currency—I
believe people do not understand the term in education never mind
the general public—and as a result the environmental message
has been lost.
2. No I do not believe the process of change
has been taken on immediately from school curriculum's right through
to local councils being able to give financial incentives to local
people (like myself who would like to fit solar panels but cannot
afford to) to take local action.
3. The strategy should include incentives
from both gas and electricity firms to assist local people to
make their cost of living more sustainable—giving out leaflets
on how to save heating are way out of date and should now be talking
about how people will get paid £3,000 to fit solar panels
in their streets to assist council housing to pay their bills
for instance.
4. This one is obvious to me as an educationalist—the
young people are our future—they have fantastic ideas—the
curriculum should offer up more practical design time and resource
for young people to be part of the new sustainable designs of
the future. I have just purchased an electric bicycle—not
that sustainable—but better than a single person driving
to work in a car (but the design is not perfect because instead
of having a battery that needs plugging into electricity it should
be able to recharge as you peddle—but you cannot buy such
a model). When I was an art teacher, many moons ago, I used to
say to young people you can redesign anything—remember everything
was designed once and is open to be redesigned. If we offer more
competitions for young people to enter around sustainability—watch
the ideas flow in.
5. Clearly not in relation to the reduction
in Youth Service budget' over the last 10 years. Although Transforming
Youth Work monies was much appreciated—it is a drop in the
ocean compared to what is needed for informal education. The "extended
schools" remit is now letting Senior Managers and local councillors
think they can realise their assets by selling off youth club
buildings and put all youth service into schools. Remember this
"young people spend only nine minutes of every waking hour
in school"—where are the budgets to support this fact?
6. If we are going to run out of world supplies
of oil in 25 years time then now is the time to act in terms of
our lifestyle. I think the environmental message is still based
around issues the Scandinavians have been doing for 50 years—recycling,
wrapping your taps and pipes for the winter, where are the new
ideas/new messages around sustainability? How many people do we
still see driving on their own in a car? Where are the incentives
to get people actively involved in environmental issues?
November 2004
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