NO - David Bernard, chair, Scottish Youth Parliament's equal opportunities committee
This statement is based entirely on perception. Perhaps the accusation of "Englishness" could have been levelled at the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) in the past. But the organisation has demonstrated a willingness and desire to work with its partners, including the Scottish Youth Parliament, to truly represent young people from all corners of the UK. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now have dedicated places on the UKYP's procedures group and its board of trustees. Scotland has the second largest number of MYP places after the London region, and next year the UKYP is heading to Stirling for its annual sitting.
The suggestion that the UKYP is not representative of diverse groups of society is equally laughable, as a recent equal opportunities questionnaire proved - 20 per cent of the UKYP's members come from non-White backgrounds, compared with just two per cent of their elder counterparts in Westminster.
The UKYP recognises it's not perfect, but it is constantly growing - maybe the suits at Whitehall should take note.
NO - Melody Hossaini, trustee, UK Youth Parliament
That's absurd. I was involved in the UKYP even before its first elections were held and I have been an MYP and a trustee - there's no way I would stay involved if this were true. Twice as many MYPs are from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds as in the population as a whole. One in six MYPs live in inner-city areas and there are MYPs who have been homeless, in care, in trouble with the law and so on. Incidentally, there is also a nearly equal gender balance.
Young people outside England were fortunate in having developing representative youth bodies in their nations. England had nothing, so it was perhaps inevitable that in setting up the UKYP from scratch in less than four years there was a greater concentration on developing structures in England.
But now we are working to get our voices listened to, let's concentrate on that.
YES - Dave Phillips, development officer, active involvement team, The National Youth Agency
I know the UKYP can justifiably claim involvement by many more Black and ethnic minority young people, a better gender balance and less of the sense of privilege that dominates its adult counterpart, but that doesn't divert from the reality that the UKYP is a fundamentally flawed model. Replicating structures that already fail the adult community is no way to ensure young people are better heard.
What really matters is how young people are able to influence the organisations that impact on their everyday lives. Unless all young people experience being listened to throughout their lives, where do they experience change and gain the confidence to engage on a broader platform? Some authorities have used the existence of the UKYP well to put in place multi-layered mechanisms that really do hit the spot. But for me, the UKYP is just too middle of the road.
YES - Peter Rouncefield, youth participation worker, Youth Consultation Peterborough
Among our Youth Consultation Peterborough members, the UKYP is perceived as elitist, catering for those least at risk of exclusion. Many young people haven't even heard of it. It's fundamentally unrepresentative of young people: not everybody's going to go to university or create their own business.
We feel there's a lack of communication and consultation: it seems to have been designed to involve young people, without listening to how they think that should happen. Once elected, MYPs receive a limited amount of support and guidance in their role.
A frequently asked question about the UKYP is whether anybody's listening to it.
One of our problems is the lack of encouragement for young people to develop working partnerships with adults. Emphasis is laid on them discussing things without adult participation. Practice at Youth Consultation Peterborough is grounded in developing productive working partnerships between adults and young people as equals.
