Michelle Welsh, MP for Sherwood, discusses the Labour Government’s national Youth Strategy

Wherever a young person grows up, they should have the support and opportunities they need so that they are able to thrive, writes Michelle Welsh, MP for Sherwood.

That is why this Labour Government is launching the National Youth Strategy, which will aim to tackle the challenges for the next generation of young people.

However, for too long, young people in places like Sherwood Forest have been let down by successive Governments who have under invested in the support services that young people need.

The current one-size-fits-all approach to young people’s services does not work, and young people, like those here in Sherwood Forest are suffering the consequences of this.

The National Youth Strategy will include measures that will bring power back to local communities, so that we can be certain that the services available to young people are appropriate for the needs of the local area.

The Government will be launching the National Youth Strategy in the summer, but ahead of this, we are calling for young people and organisations working with young people to get involved and share their views, through the Deliver You campaign.

This campaign has a number of aims:

1) To enable thousands of young people across England to shape the Government’s National Youth Strategy.

2) To maximise participation for young people whose voices are too often marginalised.

3) Increase the number of young people contributing as changemakers in their communities.

4) Ensure young people’s experiences, insights and ideas are central to the Government’s National Youth Strategy.

There are a number of ways to get involved, such as sharing the campaign on your social media or by encouraging young people you know to complete the Government’s national survey at iwill.org.uk/NYS-Deliver-You.

There will also be engagement sessions taking place across the country, so that the broadest possible range of views can be fed back to Government to directly shape the National Youth Strategy which will be delivered later this year.

As your local MP, I will be speaking with young people across the Constituency to hear their views and feed them back to the Government.

I encourage youth service providers in the Constituency to hold engagement sessions to inform the survey. I would be more than happy to come along.

Young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow. They are also the changemakers of today.

To share your views or to let me know if you are holding a youth engagement session, contact me on michelle.welsh.mp@parliament.uk.