Over 3,000 young people in Thurrock help Youth Cabinet to set its priorities for 2026

Young people aged 11 to 18 years old from across the borough had the opportunity to share which topics were most important to them during a special ballot.

There were a range of topics young people could vote for, including better PSHE lessons, the environment and Transport.

A total of 3,011 young people took part in the Youth Cabinet ballot, and the top three chosen topics were:

1. Work Experience and Careers - Creating more opportunities for youth work experience, volunteering, and career programmes.
2. Mental Health & Wellbeing - Support for exam stress, bullying, anxiety, depression, and overall wellbeing.
3. Youth Violence and Safety - Reducing gang violence, violence against women and girls (VAWG), knife crime, anti-social behaviour, and peer pressure.

Youth Cabinet will now use these three topics to focus their work on for the year ahead. In the past, the group has planned and hosted wellbeing walks for young people, and encouraged students to sign a pledge to help end knife crime.

Lexie Chapman, Chairperson for Thurrock Youth Cabinet, said: "I am so grateful that such a large number of young people got involved to help the work that we do in Youth Cabinet. We're so passionate about making our voices heard as young people, and this ballot has helped to make sure that the work that we're doing focuses on what's most important to 11 to 18 year olds."

To learn more about Thurrock Youth Cabinet, visit: https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/youth-cabinet/thurrock-youth-cabinet