New Young People's Council North Wiltshire's 'Young People's Council' is the newest way for young people in the district to voice their opinions.
	Students aged between 16 and 18 from local schools and colleges are given the opportunity to attend regular 'Young Peoples Council' (YPC) meetings on topics they have selected themselves.

This is an excellent way for young people living in North Wiltshire to get their voices heard. Opinions from the 'Council' meeting will be fed directly into the decision making process, as the group will not have any formal powers.

At a 'Council' meeting on the 11th February 2004 , students discussed items such as:

• The lack of local concessions (transport, retail, and sports facilities) given to students in the 16-18 age group

• Other transport issues, such as the lack of buses early in the morning and prohibitively expensive taxi fares

• Community Safety and Policing in the district

Last October 2004 a Youth Conference in partnership with Wiltshire County Council was held. Over 100 young people from the district had the opportunity to take part in the day. One of the major outcomes from this event was the commitment to a forum such as the YPC. Since October officers have been working on drawing together as representative a group as possible of young people to sit on the forum. We have representatives from Wootton Bassett School and Youth Development Centre.

For further information about the Young People's Council or youth conference please go to www.northwilts.gov.uk. For more information about getting involved, contact either: Shelley Parker on 01249 706610 or email sparker@northwilts.gov.uk, or Claire Pratley on 01249 706488 or email cpratley@northwilts.gov.uk