We believe children and young people should have a say on matters that are important to them. This includes topics such as our parks and green spaces, our youth centres, young people’s mental health and how we can best support and look after children who live away from home.
We have a dedicated Participation and Engagement team, who work with Young Inspectors and other professionals, to ensure young people are able to tell us how they feel and to ensure people working for Merton Council are including young people within their decision making. We do this in many ways such as running forums for young people to have their say, such as Merton’s Youth Parliament and our Children in Care Council called Our Voice as well as including young people within meetings such Merton’s Children’s Trust Board, Corporate Parenting and our Overview and Scrutiny meetings.
We also have a Participation Promise which highlights our dedication to hearing the voices of young people as well as showing young people what they can expect from us.
The promise states that young people should:
- Be listened to
- Take responsibility
- Be involved in making choices and decisions
To get in touch with the Participation and Engagement team, email youth.participation@merton.gov.uk.