Youth councillors elected for Wiltshire

Young people from across the county have joined together for their first event as newly elected Wiltshire Youth Councillors.

The event held on Saturday 2 March was a celebration of their election where they had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council, Cllr Laura Mayes. 29 candidates have been appointed from 10 schools, and community seats to ensure young people's voice is heard in all decision making across the county.

Cllr Mayes met with candidates and congratulated them on their appointments and the young people undertook votes to fill key roles within the group such as who would be the representatives nationally as members of Youth Parliament and Head Secretary and Deputy.

Wiltshire Youth Councillors will:

• Meet up with Wiltshire Council leaders and have their say on local decisions.
• Work with area boards to ensure funding for youth projects has the right impact for them and their peers.
• Review services to ensure they represent young people's best interests.
• Communicate with their peers so young people's views are properly represented.
• Have the opportunity to meet councillors and cabinet member for a particular area of interest.
• Youth councillors will be asked to commit one evening per month to attend a full youth council meeting, which will focus on issues important to the young people. The role will also require them to talk to their peers about the issues and represent their views. There will be training to support them in their roles, covering topics including debating, running a youth review/inspection and delivering presentations.

Wiltshire Youth Council is also made up of Special Advisors, these are young people that ensure that the views of the underrepresented are heard. There will be Special Advisors that champion different areas such as young carers, children in care, LGBTQ+ young people and military families. 

Cllr Laura Mayes, Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council said: This was a great opportunity to meet our new youth councillors and hear their views and what they wish to achieve during their one-year term in office. I very much look forward to working with them as a key part of our decision making.

Young people are our future and we need to ensure we listen to their views as the decisions we make today will affect everyone's future tomorrow.

Wiltshire Youth Council's Head Secretary, Katie Hyland, aged 15 said: I'm so thrilled to have been elected as Head Secretary. For this role, I'm excited to support Wiltshire Youth Council in making change to our community. I'm looking forward to seeing what new experiences and opportunities this role will bring!