General election: British Youth Council urges parties to tackle child poverty and improve mental health support
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The British Youth Council (BYC) has challenged all political parties to respond to their calls to take on child poverty and mental health services ahead of the general election.
Child poverty and young people’s mental health are among four priority areas set out by the youth body in its manifesto Our Parliament, Our Vision.
It also wants to see the next government vow to help combat climate change and reduce the voting age from 18 to 16.
Latest government figures show that almost one in three children in the UK live in poverty with 70 per cent growing up in working families.
As part of its manifesto, the BYC is calling for the child benefit level for younger children in large families to be raised as “a simple and direct way of increasing vital support”.
The manifesto states: “We believe that children and young people should not have to live in poverty in the UK - every young person should have a decent standard of living, irrespective of their economic status.”
Better investment in early access to mental health support is vital as problems for children can escalate into adulthood without help, said the BYC.
Increasing the voting age is crucial to ensuring 16- and 17-year-olds can influence “key decisions that affect their lives,” the organisation added.
Young people are also demanding that the government do more to help the environment by assessing the economic impact of reducing the use of plastics.
The BYC’s manifesto priorities were selected by its members at its annual council meeting in September.
“Candidates across the UK, seeking to represent young people, including those that can’t vote, should listen to the issues that young people are passionate about and tell young people what they plan to do to address their priorities,” a BYC spokesperson said.
The BYC has written to all political parties challenging them to respond to their priorities. It plans to publish any responses ahead of polling day.
The youth body has pledged to lobby the next government to ensure it keeps promises made to young people.
On the issue of child poverty, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats have pledged to end the two child limit for universal credit and axe the benefit cap. The Conservatives instead want to raise the allowance on offer by 1.7 per cent from April next year.
The Labour Party has promised to invest £845m to improve children and young people’s mental health, through increased spending on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and the introduction of mental health hubs to improve access for 300,000 young people.
The Liberal Democrats also want to boost spending on mental health support through ring-fenced funding. They specifically want to improve help for those with eating disorders and to ensure that all children with mental health issues receive treatment.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have pledged to recruit 50,000 more nurses with a focus on improving the number of mental health specialists. The party’s manifesto also promises to ensure all patients with a mental health condition have greater control over their treatment.
All three main political parties have made commitments to improve the environment but only the Liberal Democrats and Labour back lowering the voting age to 16.
