Examination of Witnesses (Questions 500
- 501)
TUESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2007
MR MELVYN
DAVIS AND
MR NEIL
SOLO
Q500 Chairman: So it is spreading
good practice. Mr Davis?
Mr Davis: For me the qualitative
side of the work is often the difficult thing to measure. The
nature of the support that is often needed and the milestones
towards getting a young person who cannot read to read are easy
to measure in terms of academic ability, but the support and the
social factors that exist there are not recognised. For instance,
that young person may not have been motivated or able to focus
on their education because their father was not involved in their
life in the way that they wanted them to be. So the work that
Neil and other agencies might do in terms of engaging that father
is not seen in terms of a measurable output but is actually the
catalyst for change for that young person. I think it is very
complex. A lot of funders will say we want the impact, we want
the outcomes but you are not measuring like-for-like in a lot
of cases. You have to assess basically where that young person
is coming from and that should be the basis for that measurement
rather than simply having a milestone that says we want everybody
to achieve that because you may achieve that but that young person
has not necessarily moved on in terms of their personal and emotional
development.
Q501 Mrs Dean: Mr Davis, in your
evidence you say that there is a need to stop funding music projects.
Could you tell us if that is because you think music projects
are ineffective or because you think the type of music projects
that are funded have a negative impact on young people?
Mr Davis: I was very interested
and I listened intently to the other speakers, all of whom I am
sure make quite a lot of money from the music industry. I agree
with them to a point that the music does reflect some people's
experiences (not all) within the black community, however the
perception for those other people whose lives are not affected
or reflected in that way see that very much as something to aspire
to, and if the music is not being used to solve the problem, then
it is part of the problem. If you have artists who portray themselves
very much, as, "I'm a pimp, I used to be drug dealer, look
at me now", all of these things are sending really powerful
messages to vulnerable young people who are seeking role models
and looking for alternatives to getting maths GCSE or studying
for their three A stars. So I think we have to have far more accountability
and responsibility in terms of the programmes that we fund and
that funding needs to be geared towards what is preventative rather
than what is reflective. If music is about reflecting what is
going on out there then we do not need any more negative images
reflected about the black community. What we need is preventative
programmes that change that perception and alter that reflection.
Chairman: That is a very good
point on which to bring the afternoon to a close.
Martin Salter: Excellent, excellent.
Chairman: Can we thank you both very
much indeed for your help.
| 
