Devon’s young people make their mark in youth vote

During February and March, young people from across Devon voted for the issues that matter most to them in the Make Your Mark national ballot. And the results can now be revealed!

This year, votes were cast on both national issues and, for the first time, Devon-specific issues.

In the Devon specific ballot, mental health was voted as the top issue.

It’s not the first time that mental health has been voted as a priority area by our young people, and we’ve been working hard through our Youth Voice Saturdays to try to help bring about change. However, it’s clear that there is more to do to help improve mental health services in Devon. We will use the results of this vote to give us fresh impetus to work to create a detailed, youth-led action plan.

The issue of mental health isn’t specific to Devon either, as health and wellbeing won first place nationally. It’s clear, then, that young people across the UK see mental health and wellbeing as the most important thing for decision makers to focus on.

Besides mental health, vaping, and activities and opportunities were the next most voted for issues in the Devon specific vote.

While on the national issues, Devon’s young people voted for climate and environment and culture, media, and sport as the 2nd and 3rd place topics.

Across the country as a whole, voting was very similarly to Devon, with the top three national issues for all young people being health and wellbeing, crime and safety, and culture media and sport.

Nearly 3,000 Devon young people took part in this year’s vote, with nearly half of all votes coming from East Devon. Meanwhile, 8 per cent of votes came from special schools. Although this may seem like a small percentage, it marks an important increase in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) participation that has come about thanks to the support of our Network for Change.

Results at a glance

Top Devon specific issues:

1. Mental Health
2. Vaping
3. Activities and Opportunities
4. Pollution
5. Preparation for adult life
6. Transport
7. Discrimination and Bullying
8. School life
9. Police and Crime
10. Diversity and Inclusion

National issues as voted by young people in Devon:

1. Health and Wellbeing
2. Climate and Environment
3. Culture, Media and Sport

National issues as voted by all young people across the country:

1. Health and Wellbeing
2. Crime and Safety
3. Culture, Media and Sport

What happens next?

The results of the Mark Your Mark vote will shape the work of our Devon Youth Council. Here’s what will happen:

• Peer-led research – firstly, we’ll prioritise and research the top Devon issue. This will help us identify our direction and the specifics of what needs to change.
• Youth Voice Saturday – we bring our plans to the top decision makers, with the help of young people who can share their thoughts and ideas. You can join this event!
• Youth Voice Action Plan – based on the decisions made in the Youth Voice Saturday, we create an action plan to ensure that we are the right changes in the chosen issue!

A note on Youth Parliament

We made the decision not to run UK Youth Parliament elections here in Devon this year, as we want to focus our attention on growing our Devon Youth Council Network. And since taking this decision, we have learnt that British Youth Council has folded and there is no national organisation facilitating the work of the UK Youth Parliament.

This means there are no elected Members of Youth Parliament for Devon, but our Devon Youth Council Network will be working together to get the voice of Devon young people heard. This will include linking in with other national organisations so that the voice of Devon young people is heard locally, regionally, and nationally.

We will continue to keep track of what is happening nationally for the UK Youth Parliament, and we anticipate that we will elect new Members of Youth Parliament once this programme is re-established.