Social Exclusion
Social exclusion often effects the most vulnerable in society and therefore has implications for the quality of life of these individuals. The young are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion and therefore measures in place to tackle this are mainly aimed at this demographic. However, the quality of life of others is also affected through crime or fear of crime associated with social exclusion.
Indicator SE1 - Crime Re-offending (Recidivism rates - Hertfordshire youth (10 - 17)
The year 2004/5 saw a slight (7%) rise in young people entering the criminal justice system. Although this is greater than we would like to see, it is significantly less than the 33% increase shown over the previous two years. In part, this levelling out may be the result of new initiatives by police 'settling in' and the final parts of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 having taken place. Added to this is the work of the Youth Inclusion & Support panels working to divert children aged 8 - 13 from offending by targeted interventions on those in difficulty in schools, communities or at home. In the year 2004/5 they worked with over 200 children and their families on a voluntary basis.
In relation to recidivism, we are now able to track our 2002 offenders over two years and compare them to the 'base line' year of 2000. Despite an increase of 18% in the numbers finding themselves subject to Youth Justice Interventions, there was a 9% reduction in reoffending, with 37% reoffending within two years. The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Teams have continued to work with the highly convicted young people but we had a significant increase in the number of young people receiving custody during the quarter measured and, of those, over half reoffended within a year but there is a continuing reduction in reoffending by young people at the early stages of criminal behaviour.
The trends appear to be that a greater number enter the system and, of these, a larger number each year do not progress beyond early interventions. Of those that do keep offending, getting them to change their behaviour is very difficult nationally, and to a lesser extent locally, more are ending up in custody.
| Type of penalty | 2003 cohort to reoffend after 1 year |
|---|---|
| Pre-court and reprimands and final warnings | 19 |
| First tier penalties:-Referral Orders | 36 |
| Community Penalties: - Supervision ISSP | 63 |
| Custody: - Detention & Training | 53 (19 young people) |
Indicator SE2 - Educational Attainment of children in care and care leavers
Nationally children in care still perform significantly less well academically when compared to their peers although there is some slow improvement in key local authorities. In Hertfordshire children in care and care leavers gain better results than the national average. To meet the 'Every Child Matters' five outcomes for children in care and care leavers it will be necessary to implement policy and improve practice that will provide the necessary support to individual young people that will enable them to achieve their potential.
In Hertfordshire there continues to be a year on year improvement in outcome for children in care at all key stages test levels and for GCSE results. This year there was a 14% rise in the number of children achieving 5 A* - G GCSE passes.
| Key Stage 4 | 02/03 | 03/04 | 04/05 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of total KS4 cohort that achieved at least 5 GCSEs A*-G or GNVQ | 21 27% | 35 43% | 47 57% | up |
Children in care have pre-care experiences that will affect them emotionally. Being in care with the accompanying feelings of loss and separation also has a significant effect on these children and their consequent distress can make their ability to learn in the classroom very difficult. For this reason children in care may be very behind in their studies which in part, explains their comparative poor GCSE results. However, in Hertfordshire we are seeing a trend where care leavers return to us for support to participate in further education, pre-access courses for University and help to gain vocational training.
The Education Support Service for children in care and care leavers currently support 6 young people at University and a further 80 young people in further education and training.
Hertfordshire is unique among other local authorities in England in having a dedicated arm of the Education Support Service for children in care for education and training support for care leavers.
Whereas this responsibility would normally be devolved to leaving care services, Hertfordshire has acknowledged the particular vulnerability of care leavers to unemployment and educational drift and has undertaken the corporate parenting responsibility to support educational and career development owed to these young people to 21 or 24 if they continue in higher or further education. Hertfordshire's performance in this area continues to be regarded as 'excellent.'
Percentage of Care Leavers engaged in education, training or employment on their 19th birthday (PAF A4 indicator)
| 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire | 66% | 70% | 72% |
| IPF_Data | 45% | 56% | |
| England | 49% | 56% |
Section 52 of the Children's Bill came into force on the 1st July, 2005. This section placed a new 'duty' on local authorities to 'promote the educational achievement of children in care in the role as corporate parent'. Consultation on the draft statutory guidance to support local authorities in the implementation of this duty was completed in the summer but as yet not been issued with the revised draft currently with ministers. Several useful guidance tools, the practical guide for school governors 'Supporting Looked After Learners' and guidance on out of authority placements are expected for publication to help local authorities implement the new duty effectively.
In the Government White Paper - Higher Standards - Better Schools for All, published in October 2005 it is stated that there is the expectation that the new School Improvement Partners will hold schools to account for how well they support children in care by improving their educational outcomes to support effective collaboration with local authorities in implementing the new 'duty'. The Government will consult in early 2006 on a more wide-ranging set of proposals for transforming outcomes for children in care. Achieving a step change in life-chances for this group will require continued improvements in fostering and residential care. In Hertfordshire the policy statement on the 'Education of Children in Care' was revised and re-launched in July 2005 to take account of the framework of new government policy and legislation. A senior officer group will oversee the implementation of the revised policy throughout the authority.
Children, Schools and Families continues to respond to the modernising agenda from central government with the 'Growth and Change' developments. These changes will improve services for all children and their families particularly looked after children who form part of the most vulnerable group in our society.
Indicator SE3 - Transport: access to public services
Access to transport, whether private or public, is a major determinant of social exclusion. Anyone who is unable to make a journey at reasonable cost, in reasonable time and with reasonable ease may become excluded from a wide range of key services such as employment, education and healthcare.
Measuring accessibility is difficult as people have individual as well as group needs. Government guidance around Accessibility Planning was published in December 2004, and work is progressing in determining indicators. An overall strategy for tackling transport-related social exclusion will be included in the Full Local Transport Plan 2006/07 - 2010/11 that will be published in March 2006.
In the meantime, the pilot accessibility study in Broxbourne looking at access to health services is coming to a conclusion. In partnership with Jobcentre Plus, an 'Access to Work' questionnaire has been sent to employers/businesses in the county with poor transport access. The County Council has also started to make contact with the Learning Skills Council, Further Education colleges and the 16-19 Transport Partnership around access to education. The County Council is still involved and participating in a national research project on accessibility led by a consortium of universities.
Hertfordshire is developing local indicators looking at access to transport which will be reported on in future reports.
Indicator SE4 - Teenage Pregnancy
Hertfordshire has a 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy with a rolling annual Action Plan of implementation, developed in line with government requirement. The strategy focuses on preventing teenage pregnancy and improving support for teenage parents.
Our local cross cutting targets are to:
- Reduce by 45% the 1998 Hertfordshire under 18 teenage conception rate by 2010 and, with an interim target of 15% reduction by 2004
- Increase by 60% the participation of teenage parents in education, training and employment to reduce their risk of long-term social exclusion by 2010.
Hertfordshire is halfway through implementation of this 10-year strategy and is making good progress towards its 2010 target. The latest available provisional figures for under 18 conception rate rates are from 2004. Hertfordshire's under 18 conception rate for 2004 was 27.4 (per 1000 females aged 15-17)1. This rate represents an overall decline of 14.5% in Hertfordshire's under 18 conception rate from the 1998 baseline rate of 32.0 per 1000 (females aged 15-17).
Note:
- Rates are per 1000 female population aged 15-17.
- The table shows districts in numerical order of highest u18 conception rates for 2001 -2003.
Some of our successes in 2005/06 include:
- Delivery of a range of training on sexual health and relationships issues to staff from a range of agencies working with young people and teenage parents across the county.
- Increased number of teachers and school nurses are taking part in the national PSHE Certification Programme, which will strengthen provision of sex and relationships education in Hertfordshire schools.
- Successful piloting of a free condom card scheme for young people in North and East of the county - an area with high rates of teenage pregnancy in the county.
- Development of a range of new information resources aimed at young people and staff supporting young people to improve awareness, accessibility and speedy inter-agency referral.
- A team of Teenage Pregnancy Connexions Personal Advisers provide countywide support to pregnant teenagers and young parents to remain or return to education, training or employment.
- Specialist Teenage Pregnancy Midwives provide antenatal and postnatal support to young parents.
Hertfordshire u18 conception rates showing numbers and rates 1998 - 2000 & 2001 - 2003
| 1998-00 | 2001-03 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area of usual residence(including districts (LAD2) | Number of Conceptions | Rate per 1000 Women aged 15-17 | Number of Conceptions | Rate per 1000 Women aged 15-17 |
| Hertfordshire | 1,748 | 31.8 | 1,656 | 29.0 |
| Stevenage | 234 | 52.3 | 256 | 52.4 |
| Broxbourne | 169 | 39.2 | 173 | 36.1 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 164 | 31.0 | 174 | 32.7 |
| Hertsmere | 164 | 33.1 | 164 | 30.6 |
| North Hertfordshire | 194 | 30.1 | 182 | 28.8 |
| Watford | 155 | 38.2 | 114 | 28.0 |
| Dacorum | 243 | 32.0 | 203 | 25.9 |
| Three Rivers | 138 | 29.6 | 112 | 23.4 |
| East Hertfordshire | 139 | 21.3 | 149 | 21.4 |
| St. Albans | 148 | 22.3 | 129 | 18.8 |
In 2006/07, we will continue to develop ongoing work in improving delivery of sex and relationships education in schools and out of schools setting, strengthen preventative work with vulnerable young people in the community through outreach, delivery of a countywide local campaign to raise awareness of the risks of unplanned teenage pregnancy amongst young people and support for pregnant teenagers and teenage parents to ensure better outcomes for them and their children. We will continue to focus especially on wards and district councils with high rates of teenage pregnancy in the county.
Indicator SE5 - Poverty: proportion of children under 16 living in low-income households
This table identifies that although average rates for poverty are relatively low in Hertfordshire, the rates between districts vary considerably, and between 'Super Output Areas' (defined below) there are huge variations.
'Income deprived families' are those families in receipt of Income Support and Job Seekers Allowance or in families in receipt of Working Families Tax Credit or Disabled persons Tax Credit whose equivalised income is below 60% of median before housing costs.
These indicators present a snapshot of the progress being made to tackle social exclusion in Hertfordshire. Significant progress is also being made on a number of other linked problems which contribute to exclusion, with the aim of preventing current and future generations suffering poverty and disadvantage. These problems affect the life chances of the most vulnerable in society, especially children and can only be tackled by the public sector working in partnership with the voluntary and community sectors to support children and families, raise educational standards and skills levels, promote healthy lifestyles and improve access to a wide range of services.
| District/Borough | % of under 16's living in income deprived families by district* | SOA containing highest % of under 16's living in income deprived families in the district* |
|---|---|---|
| Broxbourne | 15.85 | E01023338 Waltham Cross - 43.42 |
| Dacorum | 12.10 | E01023346 Adeyfield East - 43.29 |
| East Hertfordshire | 7.38 | E01023488 Hertford Sele - 32.99 |
| Hertsmere | 13.51 | E01023536 Borehamwood Cowley Hill - 51.58 |
| North Hertfordshire | 11.39 | E01023640 Letchworth South East - 35.27 |
| St Albans | 9.25 | E01023666 Ashley - 39.04 |
| Stevenage | 19.11 | E01023758 Bedwell - 61.00 |
| Three Rivers | 10.68 | E01023844 Northwick - 48.26 |
| Watford | 15.13 | E01023876 Meriden - 34.47 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 13.14 | E01023958 Peartree - 38.01 |
* Source 2004 Indices of Deprivation (using 2001 raw data). Ward data is not available, instead data is given by Super Output Area (SOA). This area is usually smaller than a ward and is given an identifying number rather than a name.
1.Office for National Statistics and Teenage Pregnancy Unit, Feb 2006 - provisional U-18 conception rate 2004