Hadyn Cutler MYP

February may be a short month, but it was jam-packed with events and activities in the youth voice world. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve been up to:

Kent Youth County Council

Monthly meeting

Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend this month’s meeting due to other commitments and its residential nature. However, the council will share updates in March’s roundup.

Mental Health Services Commissioning

Despite missing the KYCC meeting, I attended another youth council meeting to contribute to the commissioning of a new mental health service in Kent. I’m passionate about this topic due to my personal experience, and while I can’t share many details due to confidentiality agreements, I’m hopeful that our feedback will help Kent excel in this area.

Transit96

£2 bus fare cap campaign

This month, we launched a petition to extend the £2 bus fare cap indefinitely. Young people rely on public transportation, and this campaign is critical for ensuring their independence. We’ve received over 140 signatures so far, and I’m grateful for everyone who has shared the petition. As a small group with no funding, your support is touching. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Haven’t signed yet? Add your name to the list of people who’re telling the government enough is enough when it comes to inaction on public transport fares.

Electoral Commission’s Young Champion Project

Welcome To Your Vote week (WTYVW)

Last month, I briefly mentioned WTYVW, and it was a resounding success. Thank you to everyone who engaged with the content and resources I shared. If you missed it, the Electoral Commission has a wealth of information on voting in the UK.

Coproduction

Our group is working on creating fresh resources for young people on voting in the UK, and I’ll share them as soon as they’re published.

Meeting with Kent Police

Although there was no KYCC meeting, I met with Chief Inspector Mark McLellan, the district commander for Maidstone, to discuss the lack of communication between local police and youth voice bodies in the area. We also talked about key issues with the safety of Maidstone and how best to interact with young people in situations where that may be necessary. We agreed that there needs to be more communication between KYCC and the police, and I’ll push for such integration at our next meeting.

UK Youth Parliament

British Youth Council’s YouthCon

Coming to the final event of this month, I made my way up to Latimer Road tube station in order to attend YouthCon. This gave me the chance to meet fellow MYPs and other youth voice advocates alike, as well as receiving fundamental training on our new campaign for 2023: universal free school meals.

Developed by UKYP’s own Social Action Group, this campaign wants to ensure that every child across the UK, no matter their financial status, will get at least one nutritious meal a day from their school. I will be working with my fellow Kent MYPs to lobby our local politicians to push for this essential change to happen.

News from Votes@16

In other news from BYC, the Votes@16 group has officially launched their manifesto. This follows a lengthy period of consultation and surveying, and the results are nothing but expected; young people are being disenfranchised from the vote by an education system that lets them down at every hurdle and legal barriers that often take away their right to participate in democracy completely.

I will be backing their manifesto and pushing for the change they propose, and I know that my constituents will be along with me in saying the time is now for fairer voting for young people.

And that’s a wrap on February! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me via my contact page. Thanks for reading!