It was fascinating to hear the concerns of those in power, but also good to hear solutions that were put forward. Tim Loughton MP said there is to be extra funding to the poorest young people throughout the country. Other solutions looked at creating smarter partnerships in the voluntary and youth sectors, to ensure services don't suffer. I think it will be interesting to see how delegates use what was said and actually put it into practice.
As a representative of young people, I feel it is important to remind those in power, when they are restructuring their budget sheets, the actual reason why the services are there in the first place.
I communicated to them some of the real concerns shared with me by young people. These included the fact that we understand that there are going to be tough times ahead for everyone, but need them to remember the experiences of young people who use and access the services they provide.
Young people have real concerns around the lack of jobs and the fierce competition for the few jobs that are actually out there.
Above all, we have significant concerns around how we will be supported to stay on in learning without the educational maintenance allowance (EMA), especially those young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Young people feel that if the EMA and other benefits are cut then crime rates will go up drastically.
I think it is easy, with the pressures out there, for decision makers to get overloaded with their work and forget the real reasons why it is important to provide good services and support for young people.
We know there are tough decisions to be made, but want decision makers to remember our concerns and feelings for the future. We need to be supported throughout our lives and need the youth services currently provided, in order to do that. Young people are going to be the future of our society and we need some investment in us.
Jodie McNamara, National Youth Agency trainee
