§ 17. Mr. David Huntasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many members there are now in her youth forum; what percentage is under the age of 21 years; and if she will make a statement.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThere are 37 members of whom four—nearly 11 per cent.—are understood to be under the age of 21. We try to ensure that a good proportion of the membership is under the age of 26. At present 14 members—about 38 per cent.—are in this category.
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§ 19. Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement as to the number of meetings which have taken place of her youth forum and the number of decisions taken which have been acted upon.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThe Youth Service Forum for England and Wales has met three times. It is an advisory rather than a decision-making body. One recent piece of advice from the Forum was that the present arrangements for departmental grant towards local voluntary youth and community projects should continue. My right hon. Friend took this into account in reaching her decision not to change these arrangements.