As from 1 April 2007 the funding for Positive Activities or similar programmes has been passed to Local Authorities and incorporated into their Local Area Agreements.
The aims and objectives of Positive Activities for Young People are to:
- reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
- support young people back into education or training
- provide opportunities for personal development
- provide access to quality sports, arts and cultural activities
- encourage a healthy lifestyle and bring together young people from different geographical and ethnic communities
The Government intends to legislate to give county and unitary authorities clearer strategic leadership and commissioning responsibilities for ensuring that young people have access to a wide range of positive activities. This will need to be achieved through the children’s trust arrangements, with effective joint working between partners, including district councils, the voluntary sector and private providers.
Youth Matters, the Government’s Green Paper published in 2005 envisaged a strong local menu of things to do and places to go, set in the context of national standards for wider activities for young people. The aim is for the national standards to provide a guiding framework, setting out the categories of opportunity that should be available to all young people. Opportunities will be delivered through accessible provision that is tailored to demand, delivered by a wide range of providers in the private, public and voluntary sectors. Statutory guidance sets out how the national standards relate to the new statutory duty and to planning.
