The closure of the British Youth Council, and how to fix this.

For those of you who are unaware, on the 21st of March, the British Youth Council (BYC), who help to coordinate and run Youth Parliament (UKYP) and the Youth Select Committee, announced insolvency, after lack of funding had left it unable to carry out the duties that it needed to do. After more than three-quarters of a century helping this country’s youth, the greatest youth voice and support platform has gone. Generations upon generations have contributed to this – and this seems to be the end. The current economic environment – caused by a combination of Brexit and the aftershocks of Covid – has left it unable to be a sustainable charity. The charity has announced that they are making preparations for departure and will work with partners and the UK government to secure the future of programs as much as possible.

 

The British Youth Council was originally set up by the Foreign Office in 1948 but became independent of the government as an independent charity 15 years later, in 1963.

Since insolvency, a number of MYPs, including myself and Haydn Cutler, have contacted relevant authorities requesting information about the future of these programs. The relevant authorities were as follows:

 

The Department of Media, Culture, and Sport – regarding the UK Youth Parliament and the Youth Voice Program – no response received.

House of Commons - regarding the Youth Select Committee – no response received.

Youth Futures Foundation – regarding the Futures Youth Group - no response received.

The Careers and Enterprise Company - regarding the future of the Youth Advisory Group - no response received but has hinted that it may go independent and no longer use BYC support.

WWF – regarding the Sustainable Futures Youth Advisory Group – response received expressing concern at the closure of the BYC, and a confirmation that their roles will continue with “as little disruption as possible”.

Commonwealth Youth Forum – regarding Youth Ambassadors to the Commonwealth – no response received.

European Youth Forum – regarding delegates to the European Youth Forum - no response received.

Sir Peter Bottomley MP – regarding the APPG (all-party parliamentary group) on Votes at 16 – no response received.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP – regarding the APPG on Youth Affairs – no response received, however raised a point of order in the Commons over the BYC closure, which will be passed on the Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

 

Over 100 youth voice members, including MYPs and Youth Councillors, have signed an open letter to the Department of Media, Culture and Sport, Lucy Fraser MP, and Stuart Andrew MP, the latter two of which are relevant government ministers, requesting answers on the choppy waters many of us have been left in. I myself have signed the open letter. Anyone who is involved, or has been involved can sign the open letter, including former candidates.

 

However, while the current situation is resolved, we must also turn our attention to a larger, in many ways more important question – why was the British Youth Council allowed to go bankrupt, and how should it be prevented from happening again?

 

The British Youth Council received some funding from the Department of Media, Culture, and Sport (DMCS). Put quite simply, it didn’t receive enough funding, driving it into the ground. Very few Youth Parliament programs could fund their MYPs in taking action, and some, such as that in my home county of Gloucestershire had to cut back on their number of MYPs, merging our six constituencies into three, including Cheltenham and Tewkesbury which I represent.

 

The way to solve this is simple – ensure for future that the schemes receive enough funding. If the Youth Parliament goes to tender (the first option), as is likely, there must be some oversight and scrutiny of the schemes and funding, either through adding it as a role of a select committee or even a dedicated parliamentary undersecretary to carry out this duty and provide a direct barrier of protection for Youth Parliament in government.

 

The other option, which is less likely, but which I personally prefer, is bringing the Youth Parliament into full government control, effectively changing it from a charity-run organisation into a governmental advisory body. This would have several upsides beyond just making the system more robust and able to withstand economic hardship, as it is extremely rare for government departments to spend money to an extent that programs go bust, at least not without a direct ministerial or parliamentary decision. It would make it so government would actually have to listen to Youth Parliament, taking on board what the young people of this country are saying. It would also provide a direct connection with the government, allowing us to become an actual Youth Parliament, rather than a Youth Parliament which is consistently ignored and not listened to.

 

This must be fixed. To not fix this would endanger our futures, our youth, and our democracy. To not fix this would endanger you.

 

Many thanks to:

Haydn Cutler MYP, who has been crucial in a lot of the organising of the response

All who signed the open letter

Zara King, Chair of the BYC

The British Youth Council, for the hard work put in over the years.