Baroness Andrews awarded funding today to expand the Young Advisor scheme in sixteen New Deal for Communities (NDC) areas - including Luton's Marsh Farm. Funding of over £150,000 (£9,500 per scheme) is being pledged to train almost a hundred Young Advisors to work in NDC areas, giving young people a voice to directly affect local and national policies.
These new schemes build on the success of twenty projects established since January 2006. The funding will be used to replicate the groundbreaking work of young advisors in areas such as East Manchester, where young people commissioned school holiday activity clubs, ran a young people's counselling surgery and conducted research for the National Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
Baroness Andrews said:
"I have seen for myself how the funding we've put into the Young Advisors scheme so far really has given a strong voice for young people in the community and an influence on national policy, for example their recent input into the forthcoming Councillor Commission report. That is why I am so pleased to announce this further funding today, giving more young people empowerment to influence the way their communities are run."
Sarah Hatfield, a Young Advisor from one of the established schemes said:
"Our Young Advisors team has achieved more than we could ever have imagined; a new youth facility, improved services for young people, and better relationships between young people and adults. They have promoted such a positive profile of young people across our NDC."
Recruitment and training for the sixteen new Young Advisor schemes starts next month.
