Young people in South Shropshire are being urged by Stuart Anderson MP to seize an exciting opportunity to influence national policy-making. Officials in the Youth Team at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are developing a new national youth strategy.
As part of this, they have launched a national listening exercise that lets young people have their say on the support services, facilities, and opportunities that they would like to see in local areas including Shropshire.
The strategy will shape policies and funding for young people over the next ten years. This includes 'non-formal' learning spaces like youth clubs and activities outside of school – with the aim of improving young people's mental and physical wellbeing as well as their skills for life and work.
Overall, the strategy hopes to tackle the challenges that young people will face over the next decade. To inform their plans, a widescale survey has been launched. The national 'Deliver You' campaign is seeking views from young people.
This campaign is inspired by online food delivery services and focuses on encouraging young people to 'place their order' with the government. The online survey is open between 5th March and 16th April 2025.
It is open to any young person in England who is aged 10 to 21, or 25 for those with special educational needs. To encourage responses, Stuart has written to secondary schools in South Shropshire.
Ministers have said the strategy will "bring power back to young people and their communities and improve youth focused services, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach." All findings will feed into a report called 'Today's Youth, Tomorrow's Nation' due to be published in the Spring. This will inform the strategy when it launches in the summer.
Publication of the survey follows a formal question that Stuart had tabled in Parliament in December. He called on Ministers to support the availability of youth work in rural communities like South Shropshire.
In response to Stuart's question, Ministers said: "This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and the vital role that youth workers play in delivering those services and building trusted relationships.”
At the time, Ministers added: "This government has committed to co-producing a new National Youth Strategy, which is an opportunity to look afresh at the training, recruitment and retention of youth workers, including detached youth workers.
As part of the Strategy, we will be engaging closely with young people and the youth sector from across the country over the coming months to fully understand their needs and the issues they consider to be most crucial in addressing."
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"Since my election, I have been privileged to visit many local schools and youth groups who are running excellent initiatives that help to foster more meaningful engagement between young people and decision makers at all levels. I want to ensure that as many young people as possible have their say on what matters to them, especially those from rural areas like South Shropshire that are often forgotten about in decision-making. So, I welcome the national listening exercise that has been launched. This is a valuable opportunity for local young people to share their needs and aspirations directly with the Government. The survey will help Ministers to ensure that youth funding is spent in the places that need it the most and on the activities that young people actually want. I encourage all young people in South Shropshire to seize this opportunity."
For more information and to access the online survey, please visit www.iwill.org.uk/NYS-Deliver-You/.
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