It's an age-old problem. Teenagers have nowhere to go and nothing to do, and some drift into trouble as a result. But Government ministers plan to do something about it - and they want youngsters to have their say, as CHRIS TITLEY reports.

EVERY parent would have sympathy with the York mum quoted in the Evening Press last Friday. She has a 15-year-old son who goes to Orchard Park in Huntington, where teenagers were photographed sniffing petrol for kicks.

It's a stupid and potentially deadly craze, and she is worried her son may be tempted to give it a try.

"I am anxious about him going there - but there is nothing else for children to do," she told us.

"There should be something like a youth centre or hall where they can meet safely."

Nowhere to go, nothing to do: the perennial lament of the teenager. Stuck in the limbo of adolescence, too old to be tucked up in bed, too young to go down the pub, they are left to their own devices.

They do not have the money or the transport to get far. Ruled by raging hormones and peer pressure, often as not they end up gathering on a pavement or playing field near you.

That makes many of their elders anxious. The modern teenager gets a bad press and is associated in many minds with yobbery, drunkenness and aggression. To those peeking anxiously at them through the curtains, a group of youngsters spells one word: trouble.

This is unfair on the many young people who only want to meet with a few mates and have a laugh, but their natural boisterousness is regularly mistaken for something more sinister.

Some teenagers do live down to our negative expectations, seeking illegal thrills to escape the monotony of suburban street life. Inhaling petrol fumes is one of the more bizarre methods; for most teenagers, like the rest of us, the intoxicant of choice is alcohol.

Some adults are forgiving of boozy teenagers, remembering their own first nauseous experiments with supermarket cider. But thanks to the increased strength of modern alcohol and its greater availability, the problem is much worse than a generation ago.

A report out last week revealed that average consumption of alcohol by 11 to 15 year olds was 10.7 units, up from 5.3 in 1990. A quarter of the drinkers consumed 14 units or more. Courts are hearing of crimes committed by 15-year-old alcoholics.

This is not good for society, and it is terrible for the young people themselves. But if adolescent boredom is at the heart of so many problems, then what is the solution? The Government's answer is its Green Paper launched earlier this summer, Youth Matters. If this became law, it would bestow on councils a legal duty to offer young people "positive activities" (see panel).

Teenagers would be provided with opportunities to play sport, take part in classes and have somewhere "safe and enjoyable" to spend time. Young people would also be encouraged to volunteer to help out in their community.

The Green Paper also floats the idea of "opportunity cards". These would provide discounts on a range of activities, and could also be topped up by young people and their parents with money to spend on sports and other constructive activities.

New cardholders might be given up to £12 worth of credit to spend, and children from lower-income households could be given a monthly credit of £12.

Top-ups could also be used to reward young people for volunteering or for making a contribution in other ways. Opportunity cards would be suspended or withdrawn from young people committing anti-social behaviour or crime.

This is one of the ways the Green Paper "will put power in the hands of teenagers up and down the country - allowing them to decide how money can be spent," said Beverley Hughes, the children, young people and families minister.

Consultation on these ideas continues until November 4. The Government is keen to hear from young people themselves. A summary of the Green Paper can be found at www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/youth/ and you can respond on line.

Paul Herring, head of York Youth Service, has put together a briefing paper on the proposals which will go before councillors next month. He said it is crucial that teenagers have their say.

"It isn't just about what the council thinks, or the youth service thinks. It's very much about what young people want," he said.

"The principle is that we ensure young people don't slip through the net. That they are able to access all the services they need in an appropriate way. That they have opportunities to increase their skills and their achievements, and they can be given advice and information of a good quality which helps them to prepare for adult life."

York is already on its way to meeting some of the aims of the Green Paper, Mr Herring said.

A couple of years ago, the York Children's Trust was set up. Better known as "Yor OK!", its aim is to get agencies to work together "to provide better outcomes for children and young people".

The council also plans to establish a "one-stop shop" for youth services, staffed by experts offering everything from drugs counselling to careers advice. The idea is to make it much easier for teenagers to find the support they need, whether that's from council youth workers, charities or elsewhere.

A potential city-centre premises for the one-stop shop has been already been identified, but an opening date is yet to be fixed.

Finding places for teenagers to socialise must be another priority, Mr Herring said.

"Increasingly, young people are looking for places to go that they can call their own.

"Whether that's more youth clubs, I'm not sure; certainly places where young people can drop in and have access to all those things I am talking about."

The council is committed to creating youth centres that are not only popular places for teenagers to meet, but also boast extras such as a learning zone, where they can surf the web, an activity zone with gym equipment, and an arts area. This is how the 68 Centre on Monkton Road, York, is being developed, and the Dringhouses club is also earmarked for the treatment.

The Green Paper envisages youth centres like this, and much more besides. Of course it's all very well for Government ministers to have fancy notions about how councils should provided fantastic youth centres, organised sports, dedicated personal youth workers and the rest of it. But these are pipe dreams without hard cash.

So far they have stumped up £40 million to be shared between councils to develop their ideas. And young people could later be given control of an "opportunity fund of up to £30,000 to be spent on local projects that young people want - for example, providing a caf or running a sports league".

It doesn't seem a lot.

"It's often the case that the sort of resources which are needed to actually provide a good quality service to young people are very hard to come by," agreed Mr Herring.

York Youth Service has an annual budget of only £1.3 million. "We are expected to be an answer to all the needs of young people, but with such a small budget it's spread very thinly."

Meanwhile, Mr Herring is keen to challenge preconceived ideas about teenagers, who "are often viewed in a very negative way. They cause problems, they are a blot on the landscape almost, in the eyes of some people".

He would be the last person to pretend young people are all angels. Teenagers have always challenged authority and pushed boundaries, he says. And it is time adults gave them more of a chance.

"Some of the styles of misbehaviour might have changed, but it's still around, it's still part of growing up. Sometimes I think the adult population are not tolerant enough about the way in which young people act and what they want to do.

"Sometimes they respond far too aggressively to young people and therefore they get aggression back. It doesn't help the situation at all.

"If young people are treated respectfully, they respond respectfully. That's not to say there aren't some rogues about, but in general terms I think that's right."

This hostile attitude has also caused problems when the youth service has tried to establish new facilities for teenagers. On more than one occasion, a plan for a neighbourhood skatepark, smaller than the popular one in Rowntree Park, has been blocked by petitions and objections by residents. The same happened with a youth shelter proposed for one location, and a sports wall for another.

On some occasions, the young people themselves have proactively secured private funding and council permission for a new facility - only for their hard work to be rejected by suspicious neighbours.

It is fear that scuppered their plans - fear that these facilities would attract troublemakers. Ironically, however, trouble usually flares when young people have nothing to do and feel resented and shut out.

"People have said, 'we don't want young people attracted here'," said Mr Herring. "That's very frustrating, as often these same adults are complaining there isn't anything for young people to do."

If York's adults want young people to behave thoughtfully, responsibly and tolerantly, perhaps we should begin to lead by example.

Key ideas in the Government Green Paper on support for teenagers

Councils to provide an integrated youth support service, with a new duty to secure "positive activities for all young people"

This should support the five key outcomes for young people: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being.

Councils should offer access to:

two hours per week of sporting activity;

two hours per week of other constructive activities in clubs or classes;

opportunities to volunteer to help their community;

a wide range of recreational and cultural experiences, and

u a range of safe and enjoyable places in which to spend time

Councils should provide better information, advice and guidance to young people to help them make informed choices about their lives, and give more intensive support for any young person in trouble.

Changes to be phased in by April 2008

Updated: 10:52 Tuesday, August 30, 2005