Vicky Foxcroft

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) on securing this incredibly important debate and on the success of the campaign for votes at 16, as highlighted in the recent inquiry by the all-party parliamentary group on schools, learning and assessment, which he chairs. I am sorry to hear that he came third in his national Youth Parliament ambitions, but I am delighted that he is with us in Parliament now. The experience of my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor) as a Member of the Youth Parliament between 2001 and 2003 highlights the lasting impact of youth participation. I want to express my deepest thanks for his tireless advocacy for young people in his constituency and across the nation. I know how passionately he cares about ensuring that the next generation is not merely listened to, but genuinely heard and empowered. That goes for all Members who contributed. My hon. Friends the Members for Wolverhampton North East (Sureena Brackenridge), for Aylesbury (Laura Kyrke-Smith) and for Gravesham (Dr Sullivan), the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) and my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (John Slinger) all spoke about the powerful young advocates in their constituencies, and it was fantastic to hear them being celebrated. I also pay tribute to the incredible partner organisations, the youth workers and, above all, the inspiring young people who deliver the UK Youth Parliament day in, day out. It is genuinely great to see so many of them in the Public Gallery. Throughout my time as an MP and previously—particularly in my work leading the Youth Violence Commission—my purpose has been rooted in supporting and standing with young people. I have seen at first hand the transformational impact of timely intervention, and how a trusted adult, a safe space or a creative outlet can offer a vital lifeline and a transformed future. That work showed me that young people have the solutions; they just need space, support and opportunities. That insight drives my decisions as Minister for youth and underpins our commitment to ensuring that every young person gets the opportunities they deserve. Our young people are not merely the leaders of tomorrow; they are the active, vibrant and thoughtful citizens of today. They deserve to be heard and valued, and they should be in the driving seat when decisions that affect their lives are made. Since 1999, the UK Youth Parliament has given thousands of young people a platform to champion key issues, hold decision makers to account and drive positive social change in their communities. We are currently working closely with young people and partners, including Members of the Youth Parliament, to co-design the Government’s work to increase young people’s involvement in democracy and decision making, with a particular focus on under-represented groups. We will share the outcomes of that work later in the autumn. We are also keeping our promise to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote through votes at 16. We are working closely across Government to implement that commitment, ensuring that the necessary legislative and operational preparations are in place to successfully embed early democratic participation, so that young people have a formal stake in shaping the future of our country. I am personally passionate about ensuring inclusivity in everything we do. It is not enough simply to open the door; we must actively break down the structural and socioeconomic barriers that prevent young people from under-represented backgrounds from stepping through it. Every young person, regardless of their ethnicity, geography or background, deserves an equal voice. It is imperative that more young people across the country gain direct and meaningful access to influence decisions, locally in their communities and nationally. By embedding young people in decision-making processes, we ensure that our policy solutions are richer, fairer and genuinely reflective of the nation we serve. We are taking proactive, transformative steps across our wider youth empowerment initiatives through our “Be Seen & Heard” pillar of Youth Matters, to ensure that young people are directly in the driving seat. As part of that work, we will recruit a dedicated new youth policy network to co-design national Government policy, and we will shortly be refreshing our youth advisory group, which will oversee the delivery of Youth Matters. We are also backing youth social action by continuing to support the #iWill movement. Through the Youth Matters fund, we are assembling youth decision making directly into local investment. This will include a range of tools and support to ensure minimum standards and meaningful engagement with young people, so that provision is targeted where young people need it most. All those democratic and participation initiatives align directly with our overarching Youth Matters national youth strategy, which was published in 2025 and was, as has been said, the first in more than 15 years. Youth Matters represents a fundamental shift in how we support young people across our Government. For too long, youth services were subjected to short-term, fragmented funding that left provision patchy and unsustainable. We are moving away from those temporary fixes towards sustainable, long-term support that gives youth workers and local organisations the stability they need to build lasting relationships with young people. Youth Matters provides the foundations for our ongoing work with young people to co-design our fresh approach to youth empowerment, ensuring that national opportunities are better connected to local infrastructure. I invite hon. Members to share experiences of what is working in their constituencies with the Department, and to continue to create opportunities for young people to engage with them and, where appropriate, with Parliament. I hope this debate will be the beginning of an ongoing conversation. I genuinely thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell once again for introducing this important debate. Our wider youth strategy is about giving every young person someone who cares, somewhere to go and something to do. Together, we will build a society where every single young person feels valued, safe, supported, seen and truly heard. Question put and agreed to.