There is an old adage which states that the mark of a civilised society is how well it looks after its most vulnerable citizens. In recent weeks there have been a number of debates, decisions or studies that suggest that we need to work much harder if we are to claim to be civilised, at least as far as our young people are concerned.

In the stand-off between Nadine Dorries and Frank Field in one corner and BPAS and Marie Stopes in the other, the common ground was that both sides believe that the number of abortions is at an un-acceptable level. That is as true for those who view each foetus as a sacred life, as it is for those who primarily view each decision as a cause of anguish for the woman who is choosing. Indeed several opponents of the Dorries-Field amendment argued vociferously that the real issue was the number of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, not who gives advice to those who are pregnant. Although rates have fallen in recent years we all have a great deal more to do if we are to reduce the number from the 2009 level of 189,100 in England and Wales. Amongst these there were 3,800 abortions for girls under 16.

The coalition commited themselves to protect Sure Start centres after the election. This was heralded in January 2010 by David Cameron with a promise to keep the service if elected. However by August 2010 he began to move the goal posts, suggesting middle class parents should remove themselves from the services and by January 2011 we heard that at least 250 centres were to be closed. This was enabled by a decision to remove ring fenced budgets from the service and then by cutting the amount going into a much broader funding pot (http://tinyurl.com/5s29pjc).  Interestingly if Eric Pickles ‘bin money’ was used here, 93% of that gap could be filled!

The Government boldly promised to provide free nursery and pre-school education for disadvantaged 2 year olds but it has become clear  that this provision is so limited that in most areas, providers will not be able to run appropriate services for the children concerned and so the targeted families will miss out and much of the funding will go unclaimed.

Our Schooling system is currently facing mounting pressure as the well organised and articulate parents and governers rush to gain academy status for their schools, in some cases simply to take advantage of the generous arrangements offered by Michael Gove and in others because the carrot of independence seems to hard to resist. Some of our most deprived communities have become sustained where generous benefactors can be found to show their patronage, and the worst schools are being transported to academy heaven by Central Government. The squeeze on the remaining middle will become evident as the schools left under the control of local authorities face a bleak future with diminished resources and in a context that appears to lack vision by comparison with those at either extreme.

The Future Jobs Fund which has just run its course provided chances for a wide range of young people who were unable to find work, to experience a real work situation and to be supported and trained in areas where their education had been lacking. The FJF has been replaced by The Work Programme which is targeted and dependent on results. It should work well for those who are likely to succeed anyway who will be identified early by providers and it aims to ensure that some of those from the most challenging situations will also be included. However the majority in the middle of these two extremes are left to find their own way (something privately acknowledged by at least one Government Minister). This at a time when youth unemployment exceeds most previous records.

A scheme introduced by the Government in Summer 2011 worked with year 11 pupils before they went on to Sixth Form or other further education, employment or training or none of these. It is called National Citizen Service or NSC. In its pilot year the scheme worked with 10,000 young people, and appears to have been a success. The scheme is intended to work with young people from mixed backgrounds developing relationships and sharing understanding and learning (sadly some organisers found ways of avoiding the most disruptive and challenging young people in their communities). NSC runs for three weeks full-time, including two weeks away from home. After this the young people complete another 30 hours on a part-time basis. At next weeks Conservative Conference, David Cameron is set to announce plans to extend this to 30,000 people in 2012, then 60,000 and 90,000 by 2014. However even at this scale it will only impact 15% of the eligible young people.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has revealed this week that every year our courts separate at least 17,000 children from their mothers as a result of the women receiving  prison sentences. More than half the women entering prison do so on remand and of that number 60 percent receive a non-custodial sentence or are found not guilty. More than 11,000 children could be spared the agony of separation if non-violent women were  given community sentences. The report Voice of the Child (http://www.howardleague.org/publications-families/) says that this separation causes long-term emotional, social, material and psychological damage, with little or no dedicated support.

The report found that only five per cent of female prisoners’ children remain in the family home once their mother has been imprisoned. The Howard League insists that forcibly separating children from their primary carer causes severe distress and leaves permanent emotional scars. “We are storing up damaged children and creating problems for our future as the cycle of deprivation continues with the next generation,” they suggest “If a single mother is sent to prison she will, at least temporarily, lose her children and children become effectively parentless. Visiting hours in prison are mainly morning or afternoon slots; the time when people are at work and children are at school. Evening and weekend visits remain rare and the situation is likely to get worse as budget cuts mean that family days in prisons are being scrapped”. Further problems are created due to the scarce provision of womens prisons. Many prisoners from Sussex begin their time in Bronzefield in Middlesex and are then transferred to Peterborough to complete their time. No small distance for families to travel.

At the beginning of the 16th Century, a Spanish nobleman coined the phrase “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man”. This phrase which the Jesuits adopted explains why so many of these schemes or ideas are vital to all of us. If we ignore the vulnerable young people in our midst or engage with a small proportion of those who could be impacted, we risk losing the right to call ourselves a civilised society. It will not do for Ministers to blame parenting and teaching for previous problems if they avert their eyes from those they could resolve now.