Young people open investigation into cost of living’s impact on under-18s with call for evidence
17 September 2023
Members of the Youth Select Committee have launched a call for evidence, as part of their inquiry into the rising cost of living’s impact on young people’s health and wellbeing.
Young people are now being asked to submit evidence and details about their own lived experience.
Evidence is being collected on the UK Parliament’s website.
The Youth Select Committee is especially interested in reflections on the rising cost-of-living’s long-and-short-term impact on young people’s lives, recommendations to mitigate these impacts, and the effects on marginalised communities.
Dev Sharma, Chair of the Youth Select Committee from Leicester, said “Hearing people’s thoughts and opinions is the first step towards understanding the scale and complexity of the cost of living and its impact on young people’s health.
“The Youth Select Committee looks forward to collecting views and research from a wide range of contributors, so we can shape testimonies into recommendations that will have a positive impact on the lives of young people across the UK.”
The launch of the call-for-evidence comes as members of the Youth Select Committee, who are Members of the Youth Parliament, met in the House of Commons for the first time as a committee.
Participants were encouraged in their work by outgoing Clerk of the House of Commons, Sir John Benger, and Colin Lee, Managing Director of the House of Commons’ Select Committee Team.
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, has established the scope of the enquiry and the Youth Parliament has already conducted over 190 focus groups for young people on these issues.
The Youth Select Committee will now conduct the first full and comprehensive review on the rising cost-of-living’s impact on young people.
It will next meet in UK Parliament on 15 September 2023.
Images are available to download here.