Somerset Members of Parliament and the advisory group were given the opportunity to meet with Councillor Mike Best the Chair of Somerset County. In this article, Grace recounts her experience.
In mid-April, Somerset Youth Parliament, including both new and old Somerset Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) and the Advisory Group, attended a meeting at County Hall for a meeting with Councillor Mike Best.
This was such a brilliant opportunity for Youth Parliament to make connections with those within the Council, so we could hopefully collaborate on projects regarding issues people may face in Somerset and work out how to resolve these potential problems.
At the meeting, we all introduced ourselves, and the MYPs were given the chance to talk about their plans for their term in office. Councillor Mike Best was able to provide some information on what being a Councillor involves, and why he became one.
This allowed us to gain a better insight to what life in the Council is like, and how the work the council does can help with the work we do within Youth Parliament.
Councillor Best told us about some of the challenges the Council is facing at the moment, which was actually very helpful to hear. As without the meeting we may not have known about these challenges.
This helps us further understand more about our Council. Hopefully we will be able to work closely with them on the work we do and also help them with any work they do! Information we gather and receive from young people could potentially be shared with key members, decision makers and services within the council, which would then allow better provisions for young people to be put in place, as they would have a greater awareness.
We are all very grateful for the meeting with Councillor Best and are very excited for future collaboration!
Grace
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
