UK Youth Parliament [E/NI/S/W]
Age Group: 11 to 18 year olds
The UKYP was launched at the House of Commons in July 1999, and held its first Sitting in February 2001 in London. There are currently over 300 elected MYPs who represent both young men and women, including young people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and with physical and learning disabilities.
How are Children and Young People Involved?
Each Local Education Authority (LEA) represents a UKYP constituency, and 87% of the LEAs across England are currently represented on the UKYP (representating approximately 90% of young people in England). In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the UKYP works in partnership with the respective national youth agencies to ensure that the young people of those nations are represented on UKYP, ie – the Scottish Youth Parliament, Funky Dragon – Wales, the Northern Ireland Youth Forum.
UKYP is all about change. Once elected, MYPs work to establish the burning local, regional and national issues, and then tackle them through targeted campaigns. Recent campaigns have led to the establishment of a youth board to monitor the media’s portrayal of young people (in partnership with Ofcom and the Press Complaints Commission), and working with the Metropolitan Police Service to alter their Standard Operating Procedure on Stop and Search to ensure young people are treated with respect on the streets.
In 2004-5, UKYP receives core funding of £190,000 from the Department for Education and Skills, plus a further £50,000 to support regional work. The organisation also receives a £40,000 donation from BT to support a range of consultative activity. We also rely heavily on the support of grant making trusts, private sponsorship and the goodwill of many LEAs.
This funding gives us a sound platform from which to progress, but does not match the boundless ambition of MYPs who, inspired by our work, want to take their activities to the next level. Much progress is anticipated, not least in establishing more high profile publicity and continuing to broaden our engagement with marginalised groups of young people who are denied a voice within many other policy development frameworks.
At the heart of all this will be the commitment – from MYPs, from UKYP staff and from the departments and agencies with which we work – to support meaningful, long-lasting change as suggested by young people from across the UK.
Contact:
UK Youth Parliament,
8 Wakley Street,
London
EC1V 7QE
Telephone: 020 7843 6310
Fax: 020 7843 603
E-mail: mail@ukyouthparliament.org.uk
