This year we received the highest ever number of ballots in the history of the Medway Youth Council (formerly Parliament), with 5098 ballots being received to us – with the online ballots still to be added to the count. This beats the target that the organisation was set by the British Youth Council, and represents to us nearly 20% of 11-18 year olds in the Medway towns.
The biggest issues this year were as follows:
Transport – Making public transport cheaper, better, and accessible for all
Mental Health – Services should be improved with young people’s help
Work Experience hubs for 11-18 year olds – Knowing where to find work experience can be challenging. Government should create an online space to help young people with this
The top five schools, in terms of ballots received were as follows:
The Rainham Mark Grammar School - 1149
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School – 676
Rochester Grammar School – 570
The Robert Napier School – 524
Strood Academy – 470
These issues will now be fed nationally into the UK Youth Parliament, and Members of the National Youth Parliament will sit in the House of Commons on Friday 10th November 2017, following a unanimous vote by MPs which will enable Members of Youth Parliament to debate in the Commons chamber for the rest of this Parliament.
