How BKYP Works
Elections
Elections to the youth parliament are held every two years. The last elections were held in January 2007. Anyone from the Bradford District between the ages of 11 and 21 can stand for election. At the elections 30 new members of youth parliament (MYPs) are elected, 6 in each parliamentary constituency.
In addition to the 30 new members of youth parliament, up to 10 senior members of youth parliament are selected from currently serving members of the parliament.
Road shows
After the elections a road show is held in each constituency. Young people are invited to the event to choose the issues that the members of youth parliament will be working on for the next two years.
Young people highlight the issues that are important to them and a vote is taken to find the top three priorities in the constituency. These become the three issues that the MYPs focus on for their term of office.
Weekly Meetings
Following the road show the MYPs start work on the issues chosen by the young people. Most of their work is done at weekly sessions in their areas. These sessions are open to anyone so if you want to come along check out the constituency pages for more info on times and locations.
MYPs meet with influential people and carry out other work related to their priorities at their weekly meetings. They also attend area committee meetings, neighbourhood forums and other events to take their work further.
Public Meetings
Throughout their term in office MYPs report back to the young people of Bradford at special public meetings. These meetings are held in the City Hall chambers. The public meetings also give young people a chance to raise issues and take part in a debate. A final public meeting is held at the end of the MYPs term in office where the MYPs report back to the young people on all they have achieved over their two years in office.
You can view the minutes of past public meetings here.
You can get involved with BKYP at any of these stages. Visit the Get Involved page for more information.
BKYP Sub Groups
BKYP are looking to expand their work by working with other groups carrying out their own work on issues that don't currently fall within the BKYP priorities. A group acting as a BKYP sub group can utilise BKYP mechanisms to take their work to decision making bodies.
If you are doing some work that you think would benefit from BKYP support and would be interested in working with the youth parliament to take it forward contact us.
Other Work Done By MYPs
Communicating Young Peoples Views To Decision Makers
BKYP is recognised by decision making bodies throughout the district as the voice of young people. MYPs are able to take children & young peoples views forward through decision making structures.
To facilitate this BKYP have representatives on the Champion for Children’s Board, the five Every Child Matters outcome sub groups which link to the Children & Young Peoples Strategic Executive, the Education Improvement Committee & the Children & Young Peoples Scrutiny Commission.
Attending Events and Representing Young People
MYPs are invited to attend a variety of events both to communicate the work of the parliament and to represent young people. Recently MYPs have attended the Eco Action Day in Shipley and supported the Council's bid for lottery money to build a new park in the heart of Bradford.
MYPs have also been on the interview panels for the Deputy Director of Childrens Services and the Assistant Director of Learning Services.
