Good afternoon everyone. I’m absolutely delighted to be here.
I’m the Minister for Youth working in the DCMS. We are the lead department for out of school provision.
What really strikes me about all the work you do and the things you talk about in this report is that they are cross-Government. You’ll know that this Government has taken a mission based approach and we want to work across Government to get things done.
I’m really grateful for all the efforts that have gone into this and the months of hard work. I know you had some of my colleagues in front of you and I look forward to reading this report in detail.
It comes at a very timely moment because there’s been a national debate with Adolescence on Netflix which has shone a light on just how devastating and complex some of these issues can be.
So I really do welcome the challenge provided by the report and I want to say very clearly that we want to listen to young people.
But not just listen but put young people at the heard of decision making.
So this also comes at a timely moment because we’ve launched our National Youth Strategy and we are in the middle of that engagement.
There are lots of ways people can get involved. I did an event in my own constituency in Barnsley last week where I spoke to the Barnsley Youth Council and answered lots of their questions.
I know they are going to be doing a particular event just on the Strategy which is fantastic, and there will be lots of groups like that. I would really encourage you as leaders of your communities to get involved in this.
We are very clear that wherever you are from, whatever your postcode, whether you are engaged in a youth organisation or not, we want to hear from you.
That’s why we launched our digital postcards. It is designed so you can do it on paper or on your phone or computer.
And it is one idea you have for the Government, one thing you would like to see changed, so that hopefully everybody can have an input into our Youth Strategy.
We will be publishing it in the summer and we want to work cross-party. We appreciate there are issues that affect young people; you want the same access to healthcare, you want to liaise with public services. Whatever it is, it is important that we as a Government listen to young people.
I look forward to reading the report and want to thank all everyone that has been involved: the NYA, Parliamentary Clerks and all of you. Hopefully it will lead to change.
