FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Office of Johnny Mercer MP
Phone: +44 1752 876979
Email: johnny@johnnyforplymouth.co.uk
Johnny Mercer Meets with Plymouth Youth Parliament to Discuss the Needs of Children with Separated Parents
On Monday 13th November, Johnny Mercer met with Plymouth Youth Parliament at a Parliamentary Reception on the Terrace Pavilion for the launch of the ‘What About Me? A Child’s Right to Matter Report’. The report explores the views and needs of children and young people when parents separate. Plymouth Youth Parliament has fed into the report, providing the voices of young people in our City. Members of the city-wide youth forum gave a presentation to the audience in support of the launch.
Johnny Mercer stated “It is always a great pleasure to meet with Plymouth Youth Parliament. There is a wealth of young talent in our City. They have an important contribution to make in our political conversations. Plymouth’s delegates Sofia and Romana did superbly well delivering an important message on support for children of separated parents. They both did Plymouth proud.”
Jenny Way, a Professional Youth Worker at Plymouth City Council, added “We are so grateful that he attended to support us and that he spent a lot of time talking to the young people and us as workers, which was really engaging and a lot of fun. I look forward to linking in with him regarding the care experienced councils we also run to support our looked after young people.
The voice of the child should be heard by everyone, the work Plymouth Youth Parliament undertook clearly showed and evidenced the concerns young people have when their parents decide to separate. All children and young people need a trusted adult they can turn too outside of the home if they want to ask questions and seek help and support.
We urge the Government to take account of the report and be clear on next steps and who will continue to advocate for better services for children and young people.”
Plymouth Youth Parliament have made a video to go alongside the report which you can watch here: https://vimeo.com/883550178
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