Vaping and mental health on agenda as Rotherham Youth Cabinet leads council chamber debate

The youngsters – aged 11 to 18 – help to influence policies which have an influence on the younger generation across the borough.

And the national Takeover Challenge allows them to run the show and assume the adult roles in the RMBC council chamber.

They took charge of a scrutiny meeting and discussed vaping, mental health, physical health and healthy eating.

Youth cabinet member Harrison Wright said: “We chose to do health and wellbeing this year as it’s one of our manifesto aims. These are issues which have been raised by young people through discussions and consultation and through our bi-annual Make Your Mark ballot.

“We have just held this year’s Make Your Mark ballot and over 4,000 young people took part. The top two issues were mental health and crime, and this national result mirrored what young people in Rotherham said.”

Fellow member Giancarlo Mempouo added: “Takeover Day not only allows us to develop an understanding of the way the council runs such as learning about the split in public health responsibility between the NHS and Rotherham Council, but enables the council to hear young people's voices and a chance for us to express our views.

“A lot of the time young people's feedback is giving ideas, or feedback on a small project and not scrutinising the entirety of the council's approach to a wider topic, so it’s a unique opportunity. Following on from the Covid-19 pandemic, the cuts to the public sector and the cost-of-living crisis, everyone's health has been affected.

“Therefore, it is incredibly important that the council has the correct approach and prioritises the right actions in response to the mental health epidemic.

“As a cabinet, we have put together a list of recommendations, which were agreed by the scrutiny board members in principle.

“Some of these include reducing diagnosis times for young people; ensuring that schools listen and then implement young people's feedback and developing a space, such as progressing ideas for dedicated youth activities in Rotherham.

“Once agreed by the council, these recommendations will be carried out by members of the Council and the Youth Cabinet in order to improve the health and wellbeing of Rotherham young people.”

Cllr Brian Steele, chair of RMBC’s overview and scrutiny management board, said: “It was great to be able to support the young people and fantastic to hear them asking challenging questions and holding the council and its partners to account.”

Anyone aged between 11 and 18 who lives, learns or works in Rotherham can join the youth cabinet. Email [email protected] for more information.