Examination of Witnesses (Questions 240-252)
DR GWENDOLYN
BRANDON, MR
KEVIN SHEEHAN,
CHERYL KING-MCDOWALL,
DR PATRICIA
ROBERTS-THOMSON
AND MS
LIZ REID-JONES
1 MARCH 2005
Q240 Mr O'Brien: Mr Sheenan wants to
answer.
Mr Sheehan: I agree with the point
that it is very important to have political engagement. In Lewisham
we have got the Mayor's Consultation Board and the Mayor sees
it as part of his role to make sure that we have got consistent,
coherent consultation. He has got a lead member, also, on the
cabinet who leads on consultation.
Q241 Mr O'Brien: How do you get best
practice every time?
Mr Sheehan: I wish I could say
we got best practice every time. I think we get a lot more best
practice—
Q242 Mr O'Brien: You cannot get best
practice then?
Mr Sheehan: I would not like to
say that. Our ambition is to get it every time.
Dr Brandon: In Brighton and Hove,
as we put it, we have endeavoured to make sure that we do. It
is not just best practice because that has an opt-in, it is aspirational,
this is actual standards, ethical standards, methodological standards,
it is not something you can opt into and you can opt out of. The
buy-in in that will have to come from managers in different directorates
ensuring that their officers understand that there is a process
to go through. They have to put down their methodology, they have
to detail what the consultation is about, that they have done
some desk research into it. It is then reviewed by myself and
my colleagues who are experts in research and consultation and
then we help and advise and tell them how to improve the products,
improve their piece of consultation research; if they cannot,
it is not approved. It is a new process but it is beginning to
show results.
Q243 Mr Clelland: In the evidence from
Brighton and Hove you say that a number of activities are encouraged
to ensure that consultation is inclusive and, where necessary,
targeted. Can you tell us how your research approvals process
ensures that the consultation is inclusive?
Dr Brandon: It is a form of a
couple of pages for work that is initiated by officers or officers
contracting consultants on behalf of the council. There are three
questions, I think, off the top of my head, that refer to equalities
and equal opportunities. They say specifically "Please detail
in your methodology how you are taking on board equalities issues,
equal opportunities issues". We expect to see, if it is relevant
to the piece of consultation being undertaken, that translations
would be available, interpreters would be available, large print
format would be available, whatever was appropriate for the piece
of consultation which was being undertaken. If that is not there
we would then question the officer and say "Who is it you
want to speak to? Which stakeholders?" and then again it
would be making appropriate suggestions to ensure that they cover
equalities.
Q244 Clive Betts: Lewisham, you talk
about the Mayor's role with his various boards and trying to make
sure there is consultation with different groups, can you talk
about how the Mayor consults with young people because they are
one of the hardest groups to get any proper engagement with on
these matters?
Mr Sheehan: Yes. That was one
of the things the Mayor picked up when he first got elected, that
he felt he did not have the voice of young people. We have done
a few things, I am not saying it is not comprehensive but we have
a young mayor in Lewisham.
Q245 Chairman: What do you call young?
Mr Sheehan: What do we call them?
Q246 Chairman: What do you call young?
Mr Sheehan: He is 15, so he is
young in my book anyway. He can be up to 17, I think it is, so
basically in secondary school. We ran elections last year in all
of the secondary schools and youth clubs and local college. The
turn-out for the young mayor was something like 44.6%, so quite
high in percentage terms to other turn-outs. The young mayor also
has advisers, I think it is about 20 other young people who are
part of that process and who are engaged in that process. We use
various techniques to test some of our policies against some of
the ideas which have come from the young mayor and the young mayor's
panel. We have got, also, a young persons citizens panel which
has about 300 young people on this panel and we use them and consult
with them regularly on all aspects of policy, not just things
which supposedly affect young people, on all aspects of life.
Q247 Clive Betts: It sounds like you
have a young persons' consultation industry? Has it made any difference?
Mr Sheehan: I think it has. Most
of us were concerned with the number of young people who were
going on to get on to the electoral register and this is a process
which engages them in the early stages of decision making, they
see how things work.
Q248 Clive Betts: Do they really make
decisions?
Mr Sheehan: We have given them
some money to spend on things.
Q249 Chairman: How much?
Mr Sheehan: £25,000. It is
not a huge amount of money but it is significant for a young person
of that age who probably has not had access to anything like it.
There are some officers in the council who would like access to
it as well. We have tried, also, to involve them in the life of
democracy in the borough so they come to certain council meetings
and they get a chance to talk to all the councillors about exercises
that they have been involved in and engaged in. We have had occasion,
also, for the young mayor and his advisers to come and inform
your colleagues here in Parliament on certain aspects of stuff
that is going on in Lewisham. We are beginning to develop an opportunity
for young people to have a voice.
Ms King-McDowall: We have also
given them the opportunity for skills in terms of how to prepare
a manifesto and how to present. It has been a development opportunity
for them as well and also thinking about issues which affect young
people's lives: crimes, safety, those kinds of issues. It is about
the process as well as the result they get.
Q250 Mr Clelland: Staying with this theme
of consulting young people, Leicester City Council have set up
the Children's Rights Service which is designed to consult young
people in the council's care about the services that they receive.
Can you tell us how that is working out?
Ms Reid-Jones: Unfortunately,
I do not have any information on that.
Dr Roberts-Thomson: I am not sure
that we said that. Certainly we have consulted extensively—
Q251 Mr Clelland: You do not have the
Children's Rights Service in Leicester?
Dr Roberts-Thomson: Not that I
am aware of.[1]
Q252 Mr Clelland: We have been misinformed.
Dr Roberts-Thomson: Not that we
put in our evidence.
Chairman: It is the IDA who put it forward
as an example which is quite interesting on their front. We will
pursue that further with them. On that note, can I thank you all
very much for your evidence.
1 The Children's Rights Service is provided by Leicestershire
County Council and not Leicester City Council. Back
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