Youth work

South Lanarkshire Youth Council makes sure young people have a voice at a local and national level.

The Youth Council is made up of young volunteers (12-25 years) who meet to discuss and possibly influence the way services are delivered and shaped by organisations including the Council, police and the health board.

Through the South Lanarkshire Youth Strategy, Youth Councillors represent the views of young people on a range of issues including:

• health and wellbeing
• youth friendly services
• learning and working
• rights
• environment

They also represent South Lanarkshire's young people at national events, conferences and major youth forums such as the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Training and support for Youth Councillors are provided by the Youth, Family and Community Learning Service and the Universal Connections youth network.

The Youth Council aims to:

• work with South Lanarkshire Council to promote the voice of young people
• work with other organisations such as local colleges, transport managers and the police to influence their youth policies
• consult a wide range of youth groups/organisations such as Changing Places, the Youth Forum, Pupil Councils and uniformed youth groups
• obtain their views on youth issues and improve the wider community perception through the positive promotion of young people and their achievements

The Youth Council is overseen by a board, which consists of no more than 20 members, 16 of whom are locally elected from area youth councils, four from each area. The remaining four are drawn from specific youth issue groups such as:

• care experienced young people
• young carers
• additional support needs groups

The Youth Council Board has a responsibility to:

• deal with youth issues that are South Lanarkshire-wide and help progress local youth issues when requested by Local Area Youth Councils
• take unresolved issues at board level to the Spokesperson for Youth and/or the Scottish Youth Parliament

There are four Area Youth Councils representing the four geographical areas:

• Hamilton
• East Kilbride
• Clydesdale
• Cambuslang and Rutherglen

They have a responsibility to provide a voice for young people in their local area and support the work of the South Lanarkshire Youth Council Board.

If you have an issue you want to raise or if you would like to get involved, please email the Youth Council. Alternatively you can contact your Area Youth Council through Universal Connections.