---

5 p.m.

The Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I begin by congratulating the noble Earl, Lord Enniskillen, on his excellent maiden speech and thank him for reminding me that what we are discussing tonight are probably the problems of young people in the first world.

My noble friend's debate is as relevant as ever, as the conditions for young people to enter adult society become more difficult, and indeed when more barriers are being erected than ever before. I propose to look at why some of those barriers are erected and then make suggestions as to how we, as a society, might dismantle them.

We are focusing on that period in life when the inevitably inexperienced young person makes the transition from school to work or related training. For some it is more fundamental--securing a home; securing an income; securing health and safety. Those who are currently being looked after by a local authority may well feel that they are being cast adrift. "Looked after" is the euphemism in the Children (Scotland) Act for being brought up in care.

I recall recently tabling amendments calling for an extension of a local authority's duty of care of young people up from 17 to 21, 23 and even 25. I did that in the context that the average age of leaving home is 22. I persist in the view that being looked after by the local authority is in no way an acceleration to independent living, despite the sub-cultural thought of some children in care.

To return to the mainstream of the debate, there is no doubt that youth employment policy and practice must be looked at. The importance of entry to work cannot be stressed too much. It is the symbol of integration into adulthood and into the community. It is the means of accessing the fulfilment of one's purpose, to make one's contribution to society. Failure to achieve that is expressed in frustration, boredom, lack of direction and wasted potential--as has been mentioned--and can spill over into self-defeating deviance, vandalism, criminality, addiction and even, in some dreadful cases, suicide.

For young men it is now harder to enter employment since it was established that young women are more employable. That imbalance needs attention, especially as young men who fail to access the modern form of the hunter-gatherer role will end up very displaced. I turn to the economic aspects of that situation and, initially, touch on what I suppose must be called the redistribution of unemployment. I ask the unwanted

27 Nov 1996 : Column 291

question: who is more capable of withstanding unemployment? I answer it thus: young people are among the least capable.

I want to consider reshaping the workforce by measures such as a shorter working week, job sharing, moves from employment to self-employment and earlier retirement. Also needing consideration is the effect of raising and lowering wages as a means of employment expansion. Those suggestions all relate to a static labour market. Clearly economic expansion and investment are better but often elusive measures for expanding the workforce. I fully accept that talk of an earlier retirement policy will cause the usual Treasury cynicism that young people are cheaper to maintain in unemployment than older people. But, while I accept the initial arithmetic, I insist that it is far more damaging not to give young people a start in employment. Policies aimed at compulsory private or, more to the point, fully funded pensions will be helpful, albeit requiring a substantial period of time to elapse before they come into effect.

I should like to run with the hypothesis that there is a frostier reception for young people when joining the workforce today. They are perceived as a greater threat to existing jobs than ever before. That is a product of job insecurity and of the changing nature of work. As has been mentioned, there are far fewer jobs now for a laddie--a wee boy--to do.

I move on to education policy. Initially, I note that schools still focus on qualifications rather than skill acquisition and that professional cynicism allows some children to be written off due to family background. I am keen that all young people should be taught economics, particularly those aspects which explain employment practices and the nature of work and business. Too many young people have not grasped that unless they focus on a specific job, they will be left unemployed. Youngsters who say that they will do any job will be employed to do no job. An education system that produces unfocused jobseekers is clearly unhelpful.

Similarly, the practice of teaching the wrong metric system is unhelpful. Teaching children to use centimetres is nonsense when the building industry uses metres and millimetres. The distortion caused by drug pushers, some media influences and parental disinterest is even less helpful. Parental disinterest needs examining. I suggest that today's parents have less confidence as parents than ever before. Faced by a bewildering range of differing lifestyles and attitudes, today's parents are faced with choices and potentially more confusion than their forebears ever had in a more structured society. A clear view of how children should be brought up seems to be harder to develop and maintain today. Parents and potential parents therefore need to give that matter more thought and, in some cases, actually start to think about it.

I want now to focus on the neglected area of social and employment policy; that is, that of land settlement. It is part of what I call "remote areas" policy. Reversing the trend of education and emigration from our more remote areas could be achieved by a more vigorous approach to enabling young people to stay or, indeed,

27 Nov 1996 : Column 292

move to the more remote areas and to find a means of making a living and a life in the abundant space of our more remote areas. Attention to underused land assets and absentee landlords would reveal that there is a potential for the redistribution of land and that that has already been legislated for. Attention to the position of absentee crofters and smallholders, for example, and a better resourced crofting new entrant scheme could have considerable benefits in that regard.

I conclude with the plea that the importance of a successful transition from school to work be recognised as vital and that government policies be focused around that criteria.

5.8 p.m.

Lord Sempill: My Lords, I too extend my congratulations to the noble Earl, Lord Enniskillen, and welcome to your Lordships' House another valuable spokesman on behalf of Africa. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue as I believe the young are the most important asset that we have and I do not believe that we are managing them very well.

Today's young are by no means the most problematical that we have had and I suspect that my generation may even have been worse. In contributing to the noble Earl's debate, I felt it worthwhile to provide an overview of today's youth and I commence with a quote:

"It was the absence of anxiety and the freedom to grow up largely without interference from adults which demarcates previous generations from this one ... the children bear an adult burden of worry and gloom".

That quote has been extracted from an extensive piece of research commissioned by an advertising agency, which, not surprisingly, is very interested in the attitudes and aspirations of today's youth. The research was conducted in six cities among respondents aged 14 to 25 and has been supplemented with quantitative data from various other sources. It was completed in March of this year.

The key observations are that British youth are characterised by an aggressive consumer confidence, a reasonable degree of control over their social lives and a growing consumption of media. They are worried by job insecurity, AIDS, drugs and violence, which means that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet. These concerns are underlined by a perception that major institutions are now letting them down. This is mainly applicable to schools and, unfortunately, to the police.

Education featured very highly in the research, and I was pleasantly surprised to read that in a list of 10 key lifestyle statements the second in order of importance was:

"It's important to work hard at school".

That shows a clear recognition of the value they place on education, an area in which government have a clear responsibility and an area where the young are at the most crucial stage of their development. But the continual chopping and changing of educational policy has created a feeling among our youth that they are nothing other than "guinea pigs". The current dilemma between school teachers and difficult pupils is a good

27 Nov 1996 : Column 293

example of how we have failed them through parental incompetence and state impotence. Their uncertainty manifests itself in a blase approach to their future, which is being exacerbated by the speed with which things continue to change.

Technology, however, holds them in no fear and I was surprised to read that nearly 60 per cent. of their homes have a PC and that over 80 per cent. of the respondents use computers on a regular basis. The majority of them have become aware of the Internet and recognise the benefits of having global technology or information on tap. The impact of this technology is having a profound effect on education, specifically now that teachers are reshaping the way lessons are presented.

The biggest change noted in the research--a similar study was conducted in 1994--is the emergence of the empowered female. These young women, one of whom is my daughter, are active consumers and display a maturity way beyond their years. They are sexually aware and not afraid to start relationships. They are avid readers of magazines especially those aimed at older women, from which they are picking up a wide range of information, some of it sexually explicit. Among this group, unfortunately, there has been a notable increase in young female gang violence, which is disturbing. This empowerment has, not surprisingly, created a male reaction, which is epitomised by, in the words of the research,

"a laddish world of football, pubs and birds".

That is not dissimilar to what I went through.

No valid observation can be made of the young without reference to the drug scene and the impact it has had, and will continue to have, on their lives. So let us examine the drugs phenomenon a little closer. According to the Drug Dependency Unit, some 2.7 million Ecstasy tablets, with a street value of £40.5 million, are sold in the UK every weekend. The survey shows that 17 year-olds are averaging more than £100 per month to satisfy this habit. That does not include the £40 they spend on alcohol. But before we condemn them to a life in prison, let us just understand what they value in this rather extraordinary pill. It kills their inhibitions and brings them into a world of love and togetherness! Is that good or bad, or is it not just what we were trying to do, albeit through different stimulants? However, across the board, some of the fun associated with Ecstasy usage has gone. It is by no means harmless, as the death of Leah Betts clearly evidenced in the research.

The power of this drug is not just the effect on the individual but the effect on an entire generation. It has spawned an entire culture of music and dance, and with that a re-evaluation of youth values. It has been responsible for the development of the rave scene, which in turn created a separate form of street communication, leading to a dramatic increase in pirate media. Their buying power has enabled them to escape from the home environment and, coupled with the chronic lack of facilities, has seen the urban youth invade shopping malls and fast-food outlets, where they congregate and spend their money. Their country

27 Nov 1996 : Column 294

cousins are not so fortunate and boredom often becomes the catalyst for experimentation with drugs and other substances. This freedom of movement is helped by a degree of financial independence. More than 85 per cent. of them have either a bank or a building society account and approximately 20 per cent. receive between £100 and £200 pocket money per annum.

I hope that I have given your Lordships some insight into our youth, although it is important to note that this is no homogeneous group. Social divides are clearly evident and the hedonistic attitudes of some should not be confused by the overt anarchism of others. Why are our children so unsettled? They are, after all, exceptionally privileged in comparison to many of their counterparts overseas. The difference, I believe, is in how we are portraying the future. A recent study has examined the attitudes of the youth in India. They are extremely confident of tomorrow. They are led to believe that their contribution will not only benefit India but that they, in turn, will experience a lifestyle of superior quality. We may all hold differing views regarding our future, but I ask: is it as bad as the media make out? Where is the dream; where are we going? Young people do not aspire to write the agenda. They expect us to do this.

What do we offer? ERM, BSE, BBC and government by TV! It does not quite have that "bliss was it to be alive that dawn" feeling. As the survey shows, they have little confidence in the political system, let alone the politicians. Therefore I have to conclude that our youth are frustrated and lacking in direction. They are the beneficiaries of a technological revolution, which is having a profound effect on our society. They are maturing at an alarming rate and need to be given a stronger sense of citizenship. It is in our long-term interest to provide them with the necessary facilities to allow them to develop and thereby contribute to a better tomorrow.

---