GovWire

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport commissioned an independent provider, Ecorys UK, to conduct a study into the perceived impact of the UK Youth Parliament and Youth Policy Development Group.

The UK Youth Parliament is a 2-year programme, involving 300 elected young people aged 11 to 18 from across the United Kingdom to represent the views of young people at local and national levels. The Youth Policy Development Group involved 40 young people aged 16 to 25 in England who were consulted on policies by central government departments and ministers. From April 2023, both programmes were combined under the banner of the UK Youth Parliament.

The study explores programme reach and awareness, delivery, impact and outcomes for participating young people, and on policy processes more broadly. The report summarises what has worked well and opportunities for improvement in both programmes, identified by current and former participants, and other stakeholders. Recommendations from the report will be explored further by programme administrators and delivery partners under the new UK Youth Parliament programme. The Lundy model for child participation was utilised to engage youth voice throughout the evaluation process.