§ 6. Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish a White Paper outlining the Government's policy for action on youth and community work in the 1970s.
§ Miss LestorMy right hon. Friend will certainly consider this possibility. He is carefully reviewing the comments he has received on the recent report of the Youth Service Development Council, and I shall shortly be discussing them with its members.
§ Mr. JuddI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Would she agree that there is a great deal of interesting material in the report and that there is widespread disappointment that there has been no clear indication what the Government intend to do about it? Would she also agree that there is urgent need 600 for a clear statement of Government policy on this vital aspect of formal and informal education?
§ Miss LestorI agree that there is a lot of useful and important material in this report. We are considering all the recommendations and the comments that have been made on them. This is bound to be a lengthy job because it is a very complicated report. Some bodies concerned with this youth work have indicated that they would welcome an authoritative statement from the Government quickly. On the other hand, others have indicated that they would rather we hastened more slowly.