Within Sandwell council there exists a group of councillors who target specific groups of issues. These are known as ‘thematic areas’ and these select few councillors go by the name of the cabinet. They make everyday decisions which affect the lives of all adults and young people a-like in Sandwell, and in order for these councillors to make the right decisions for young people they must first consult with young people, and that’s where the Shadow Youth Cabinet come in.

Back in 2003, Councillor Linda Horton took the first steps in setting up the Youth Cabinet. Cllr Horton was passing judgement on a decision that affected young people in Sandwell, but she wasn’t completely satisfied that young people had been adequately involved or consulted. So, with this in mind, she proposed to set up a group of young people that would shadow the cabinet and be their main consulting body. The Shadow Youth Cabinet ensure the councillor’s decisions include the views of young people and they also work with the wider community to make Sandwell a better place for young people to live.

The group are now in their third term of office, working closely with the council making those decisions on behalf of all young people in Sandwell, after all it is the young people of Sandwell that elect them into office. Each term, candidates go through a whole nomination and voting process which takes place all over Sandwell in schools, youth clubs etc. Candidates have to write a speech and present themselves at a formal election, then the voting takes place and your new shadow youth cabinet is elected.

When in term of office, the group are split into their thematic groups so that they know which councillor they are shadowing and what topic they are going to tackle i.e. tackling bullying in schools or treading down prejudice (this thematic group being equality and diversity).

There are regular meetings every week, which revolve around a scheduled agenda, organised by lead officers within the cabinet that are internally elected. They are the roles of ‘Chair’ (leading the meetings), ‘Vice Chair’ (supporting the Chair’s role and standing in at times of absence) and ‘Secretary’ (taking notes from every week’s meetings and documenting them).

You’re probably thinking “that sounds like hard work,” well… it is, but someone’s got to do it and sure it has its benefits. Young people on the group are treated to trips and lifetime experiences, which they would never have had otherwise, and most
of all friendships are developed between the young people, which can last a lifetime!

HOUSE OF LORDS
WELCOME UKYP

300 young people stormed the House of Lords chamber on the 2nd May 2008 as part of a historical event to debate issues affecting young people in the UK.

The three national campaigns were: abolishing university fees, the environment andfree public transport for under 16s. The 300 members of the Youth Parliament battled hard to get their points across and showed their maturity and superb intellect in the House of Lords, as well as showing a huge amount of respect to one another. The Lord speaker, Baroness Helene Hayman, congratulated everyone on thesequalities. My personal experience in the chamber was exhilarating. The atmosphere was amazing.

As soon as we entered the magnificent building you could see the importance. We entered the beautiful chamber with red leather seats (where members of Parliament have debates on current issues). It gave us a real buzz!

We came here with a purpose, to give young people everywhere a voice and try debate and vote on the campaigns to help youths achieve a better future. By the end of the day we felt that we definitely achieved our goals.
by Usman Hussain


Shadow Youth Cabinet
ELECTIONS

The elections are an amazing experience as the young people in Sandwell have the opportunity to vote and elect the new cabinet members.
by Tom Millard

Young people can vote in many different ways from text and email voting, to voting at local youth centres and at school. The elections are held over four days to give all young people a chance to vote for the candidate they want to represent them on the Sandwell Shadow Youth Cabinet.

The elections give the young candidates the chance to promote themselves and tell the young people of Sandwell what they have to offer and what issues they think are important to them. In my opinion the elections are amazing as I got the chance to go out there and campaign to get on the Cabinet. I had the chance to talk to newspapers and go on radio stations, designing posters, going around the schools in Sandwell and going to the youth clubs as well.


The elections results are announced at a special event at the council house in Oldbury. The day makes everyone feel very important as we stand together with fellow candidates and await the outcome. When the names of the young people are called, you can see the anticipation and nerves of the candidates. But from experience, when my name was called out I felt amazing as I thought ‘all the young people of Sandwell chose me to represent them.’

I have been on the Cabinet for two years now and I have really enjoyed every minute of it because I know that I can make a difference for young people and show that we do have a voice.

There are a lot of decisions being made by adults for young people, so I’m glad that I can change that by telling the adults and councillors exactly what young people want, and what they need in their life to help them either get off the streets or do better in school. So I would like to thank the young people of Sandwell for letting me be a voice for them.


Main Photo Caption:
(Back):
Thomas Millard,
Phillip Wilson,
Jake Jones,
Saleh Saeed,
Rafaquat Ali,
Lemuel Morgan,
Vijay Masaun,
Chanvir Randhawa, Usman Hussain

(Middle row):
Daniel Thompson, Khushi Randhawa, Robert Gilbert,
Jessica Masaun,
Adam Price,
Stuttee Mehra,
Matthew Davies

(Front row):
Ben Hancox,
Fahad Atiq,
Nathan Poole,
Leroy Cohoone,
Brandon Summers