The Government is providing funding of £850,000 to the British Youth Council in 2011-2013 to:
- set up a new national scrutiny group of representative young people to advise Ministers across government on how policies affect young people and their families;
- advise councils and others on how to involve young people in decision making and auditing services;
- make sure there are young people able to represent youth voice in the national media;
- sustain the UK Youth Parliament and support its influence.
There are many ways to involve young people locally. The Government urges relevant bodies in every area to involve young people in making decisions about council, health, transport, and other relevant services. It wants to see every area having arrangements for young people to audit the quality of these services.
In addition, each local authority area will soon have a new organisation called Local Healthwatch to make sure that young people will have a voice in shaping local health services.
Young people have energy, enthusiasm, and valuable ideas for shaping and improving the world around them. Yet young people generally get a bad press.
Young people have a right to have their views taken into account in all decisions that affect their lives. We must give them a stronger voice and celebrate their positive contribution and achievements. We must also encourage and support them to speak up when they see media reporting that they believe is unbalanced or unfair.
