Young people
looked after by Warwickshire Social Services will be giving their views
on the care system to a government minister tomorrow.
The unique
conference is being held in Birmingham as part of a Midlands-wide
initiative to promote consultation among those who are being cared for
by local authorities.
Seven people from
all over the county have been chosen to represent Warwickshire at the
Make It Happen conference.
They will have
the opportunity to question a panel including Arts Minister Alan Howarth,
Denise Platt, the government’s Chief Inspector of Social Services and
Warwickshire County Councillor Richard Grant, who is a member of the
Local Government Association’s Social Inclusion executive.
One of the
youngsters from Warwickshire will lead a workshop on drama at the
conference, which will have more than 120 visitors.
Warwickshire
Social Services Advocacy Officer John Murphy said:
“The aim of
this event is to promote consultation with young people and enable
them to give their views on the care system directly to government
representatives.
“This is the
first event of its kind we have held in the Midlands, but we are
hoping this will lead to bigger events where we can involve even more
looked-after young people.”
Cllr Grant added:
“I’m really
looking for to sharing ideas and debate with looked-after young people
on the issues facing them.
”The
driving force behind this event is to improve the services we offer to
looked-after children and young people by carefully listening to
them.”
