A bunch of salt-of-the-earth youth workers were sharing their experiences and wisdom with a couple of people charged with compiling a report on the state of play. The usual stuff was trotted out: the voluntary principle, the educative purpose of youth work. There was the predictable mantra about under-resourcing and simply just not being able to do enough for challenging young people who presented a complex range of needs. Complaint and concern was expressed about being sucked into meeting...