Young people to investigate the cost of living’s impact on health and wellbeing in ‘committee’ inquiry

A group of 12 young people, aged between 13 and 18, will come to the House of Commons as part of an eight-month Youth Select Committee Inquiry, set to begin in summer 2023.

Almost half a million young people declared health and wellbeing their biggest concern in a UK-wide ballot of young people aged 11 to 18 last year, conducted by the British Youth Council.

A rising cost of living has been identified as a driving factor in concerns about health and wellbeing.

The Youth Select Committee, which is supported by the House of Commons and the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, will establish the scope of the enquiry and then ask for written and oral evidence from the UK public.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, welcomed the launch of the Youth Select Committee. He said: “I’m encouraging all young people to get involved with this inquiry.

“Whether applying to sit on the Committee itself, or by submitting evidence about your own lived experience as a young person, there are many ways to help inform the final report.

“I hope this inquiry will lead to insights that can be usefully applied by politicians from across the House.”

Zara Khan, Chair of the British Youth Council, the charity which coordinates the Youth Select Committee: “Young people have declared health and wellbeing a key issue of concern and it's evident the cost of living crisis is a key driver in this.

“The Youth Select Committee’s inquiry will be a key opportunity to establish the impact the cost of living is having on young people, how best we might resolve the issues being created and importantly will garner a response from the UK Government. We’re pleased to be working with the UK Government and UK Parliament on this important issue.”

Previous inquiries conducted by the Youth Select Committee considered the impact of knife crime, following a ballot of a million young people.