YOUNG people from Feltham have convinced MP Alan Keen to join the fight against cuts to youth services.
A dozen teenagers who use youth services attended the Choose Youth Lobby of Parliament event last month, which was aimed at giving young people a chance to raise issues with their MP.
Mr Keen was unable to attend the event, but the group met with one of his senior parliamentary researchers and were able to discuss their concerns about how spending cuts could damage youth service provision.
Thanks to the group's lobbying, Mr Keen, MP for Feltham and Heston, has signed a petition and an early day motion calling on the Government to protect youth service from cuts.
Mr Keen said: "I believe youth services are an important investment in the UK’s future and the Government needs to take urgent action to stop the youth services being pulled apart in our local communities by dramatic spending cuts.
"I will be writing to Hounslow Council in order to highlight the importance of youth services in the borough and to urge them to protect the funding for youth services in our community.
"Our youth service, which has historically been a partnership of local authority and voluntary sector providers, is far too good to lose to spending cuts and it urgently needs investment to tackle the new challenges that young people in Hounslow are facing, such as record high youth unemployment and barriers to further and higher education."
The event, held at the Central Methodist Hall in Westminster on October 25, featured a lobbying workshop for first time lobbyists, a creative campaigning workshop and a campaign action workshop.
Detached Youth worker Mike Gower, who took the group to the event, said: "It was really good event and gave them an opportunity to understand how the process of lobbying works and to show them that they do have a say and that people will listen to them.
"Youth services are really important - 75 per cent of young people have contact with youth service provision and if the Government cuts it, that's 75 per cent of young people that could be missing out on that positive interaction."
