Reform puts teenagers in charge of vital public services

[Sheldonsheher]

I know teenagers think they know everything but really a teenage boy in charge of family and child services. Can the country get any more dysfunctional?

Having the middle aged in charge of things has worked out so well hasn't it

Yes but your brain isn’t fully developed until your 20s.

Also things could be worse if everything was run by teenagers

It's not just them though, didn't labour have a 19 transwomen in charge of women's services? Don't get me wrong, I'm dead against Reform and generally to the left but it's the public that's voted this teenager in in the first place

This happened several weeks ago and was widely discussed on here at the time.

Anyone who understands local government knows they haven't been put in charge of anything really. They are the portfolio holder not decision makers - the people managing the budgets and making the decisions will still be the directors and assistant directors of adult social care/ childrens services who are employed on significant salaries after competitive interview processes

Obviously I don't disagree that it's slightly ridiculous, but they aren't 'running' childrens services.

This exactly

I wish people would stop repeating this nonsense. It's factually incorrect and infantalising to young adults.

Can the country get more dysfunctional? I know this is poor, but do you not remember the government between 2019 and 2022?

When is the brain fully developed?

I would consider it scientifically proven

Never. Your brain continues to develop and change throughout your life. That is why things like PTSD exist and can be helped. Thats why therapy can help a range of challwnges.

Actual science would not consider it scientifically proven.

ok Amy Farrah Fowler are you going to expand your position?

Sorry, I know nothing about local government but if this is true what’s the point of having councillors? If they don’t make decisions or manage budgets? What do they actually do, what does a portfolio holder do? Because if it’s nothing maybe we have a DOGE style purge of councillors and get rid of them?

@Lovelynames123 please don't say that's true

All councillors are willing do gooding amateurs untrained in anything.

Doesn't matter what their age is

Look up statutory services that councils have to provide.

If there's any money left over from providing these, the councillors can vote to provide voluntary services, like free access to boating lakes for pensioners.

If there's not enough money to provide the statutory services, they vote to shut down the libraries or sell the town hall.

It's like having school governors if you want a very imperfect smaller comparison.

The idea is that councillors are elected from the general public to represent the constituents of the local authority and hold the local government to account and pass decisions put to them by the directors of each local government department. The councillors are political appointments so in theory can sway the direction of how money is spent via the way they collectively vote but in reality most local authorities barely have enough money to cover their statutory duties these days so the actual influence they now have is quite limited.

The councillor portfolio holder for a particular department doesn't make the decisions they are just the councillor who is supposed to make a particular department of the local authority their area of expertise and be a link between that department and the wider council chamber. They along with the other councillors will all vote on all department budgets etc as put to them by the the directors/assistant directors who's actual job it is to make the decisions.

I'm not a reform supporter but I'm not displeased that the local authority/ councillor relationship is having a light shone on it as a result of this.

Council elections have notoriously low turnout and many councils have for many years had the same old fusty councillors with very little competition. If this has the outcome that people take council elections a bit more seriously in future then I think that's a good thing.

This is my field. I’m afraid there is a great deal of evidence that the development of the frontal lobes and frontally mediated brain function is not fully developed until your early 20s, especially in males. There is emerging evidence it could be even later. So you are incorrect.

This isn’t accurate. They are the decision makers, in the same way that the Portfolio Holders at national level are the decision makers. What you have here is the local equivalent of Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Officers/directors etc. are in paid service and obviously write the reports/guidance, and offer advice, but it’s these two eejits that are the representatives of the electorate. They set the strategic direction of their departments and sign the decisions off on the dotted line. I can only hope they listen to their experts. They are under no obligation to do so, or agree with them.

The snowflakes of today in charge? yeah bring it on!

So let me get this straight. Young women can be responible for raising a human being much younger than 18, but young men are too immature and incompetent to be responsible? Not sexist much!

What if it actually produces different results. At least they might be able to relate to the kids they are helping??

Child in charge of children's services
Junkie in charge of local medical services
A morbidly obese person in charge of public health.
A complete fucking mug in charge of all of it.

I’d think the same if a 19yo female was in charge. I’d like councillors to have had some decent managerial/leadership experience before being councillors. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.