---

Social Exclusion Unit Report

My honourable friend the Minister for Local Government has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. Today the Social Exclusion Unit in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is publishing a major report entitled Transitions: Young Adults with Complex Needs. The report proposes:"a renewed focus on the 16 to 25 year-old age group, building on the Government's successful programmes for disadvantaged children and families;""a focus on the ““invisible”” early twenties, the age at which youth policies have tended to end;""the need for all young adults to have a ““trusted adult”” in their lives to help negotiate their way around different agencies; and""smoother—and therefore better—transitions between services by joining up ““vertically”” to promote continuity of service from adolescence to adulthood." The report highlights three key themes: Thinking and BehaviourFor young adults, issues around thinking and behaviour are particularly critical because decisions made during the transition to adulthood—particularly in areas like education and employment—are some of the most important and far-reaching decisions taken at any time of life. Age-bound servicesThe importance of the issue of age boundaries was reinforced during this project by practitioners and young people alike. Two issues dominated the discussion of this area: the often abrupt ending of services once a young person reaches a certain age, and the sometimes poor transition between youth and adult services. Holistic services and the ““trusted adult””Young adults with multiple problems may lack the skills and resilience needed to make the transition to adulthood. Support, advice and guidance are crucial in order for young adults to make a successful transition. For many young adults this will come from their parents, relatives, guardians, or teachers—but not all young adults have these sources of support. For them, this supporting role may be filled by a personal adviser or mentor—or someone else acting in the role of ““trusted adult””. The report contains 27 action points to be taken    forward by Government departments. The implementation team in the Social Exclusion Unit will monitor the progress made by the departments on individual action points and will work to ensure that the overarching goals contained within the report are pursued across government. Baroness Andrews, Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, will chair an ad-hoc group of Ministers from key departments to oversee progress towards the action points contained in the report. Copies of the report have been placed in the libraries    of both Houses. Further copies can be    downloaded from: www.socialexclusion.gov.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=785.