"Young people are 25% of the present and 100% of the future." That is not to say from a famous academic or international politician. It was a statement made by the late councillor Danny Cracknell, and independent district and town councillor who invariably topped the polls and was chairman or town Mayor of Ringwood for 7 out of 10 years between 1997 and 2007 (for two of the 'missed' years he was ill.) Those who worked with Danny will have lost count of the number of times he reminded us of the percentages, so much so that the statement now underpins a huge amount of work.

Why was he so passionate about young people? By trade, he was the "travelling washing machine repair man". His job put him in direct contact with people from all walks of life and ages in Ringwood. He was a good listener and heard first-hand about the issues that concerned residents as they chatted to him while he worked. He learnt about the young disadvantaged, and yes, he had those in comfortable Ringwood, and set about providing them with interesting diversions. He set up the Cheetahs, a group for teenagers that built and raced grass track cars. And as they ceased to cause as much trouble as they had previously.

He learn from young people that they did care about their future, but were frustrated by the system. They could not vote, and their views about the future were rubbish because they were not "old enough" to understand.

Our recent discussions with young people brought for comments such as "councils don't know what we want and don't talk to us.", and "they don't take any notice of what we want, and they go to a meeting and decide what they think we want". In short, our young people resented "coffin dodgers" (their phrase, not mine) making decisions with long-term consequences with little or no input from those most affected, i.e. the young. Questions such as "you (us older people) have a house, why, why do you let any be built for us?"

Starting the conversation.
For years, town councillors had worked with young people on individual projects. They did not adopt a big glossy policy document or set down rules governing how they should do it. They just met youngsters informally on their own patches, "on their turf", finding out about their problems and identify solutions.

Young people have usually influenced the design and layout of our facilities. On recent project to update a skate park they took part in discussions with suppliers and then chose these supplier and the equipment.

But we felt we were missing something, because there was no continuity or involvement in issues that affected their long term futures. Remember, councillors knew that young people were 100% of the future. Moreover, only to councillors had children of school age. Most were not in daily close contact with teenagers and it was impossible for them to know about their hopes, aspirations and fears.

We wanted young people involved, not just consulted, at the point decisions were taken. And that was long before the Big Society.

We looked at lots of models. Although everyone provided opportunities that were not here before, not one put young people at the table where the actual decisions were made. They also had one other significant drawback: they all needed resources that we did not have a support them.

But following a project we undertook with a local secondary school. We realised that there was no age bar on the appointment of an expert to advise councillors before discussion are taken. Only a fool makes a decision without all the relevant information and who are the best people to give information about young people's views? We therefore asked the school to nominate two students to act as advisers to each of our committees. For legal reasons, the formal appointments have to be made by the council and although the scheme is now in its fourth year, we have never considered refusing a nomination.

Student advisors receive the same papers as councillors, except they want them by e-mail. They are fully involved at all meetings and stay when we have to move into private session. We have live examples of where students have influenced decisions. They have also prepared and submitted reports direct to committees. They are now an integral part of the way we work and make decisions. Oh, and it costs virtually nothing to operate.

The scheme has been featured in this magazine, the Local Government Association's First magazine and NALC's whatever, yeah? Booklet and at workshops at NALC's Localism in Action conferences in Bristol and York.

Machiavelli said: "Learn to see things as they really are, not as we imagine they are.", Which brings us back to coffin dodgers and Danny's point about who is important.

For more information about our student advisors scheme, visit: www.ringwood.gov.uk

To read this article in the printed form, please click on the following link. "Tap into Teens".