Partnership for Young London – Voice for Care Leavers 

Partnership for Young London delivered its awareness-raising project aimed at care-experienced young Londoners. This included in-person youth engagement through face-to-face workshops, which provided information regarding voting system changes and voter registration. Furthermore, Partnership for Young London assessed the inclusion of democratic rights in each borough’s local offer to care-experienced young people, and information was shared with participation workers in each borough.  

Partnership for Young London delivered awareness-raising and project events to care-experienced young people across London, including in Bexley, where they have a well-established link with the Children in Care Council (CiCC). The lead worker for the CiCC in Bexley hosted a session in the borough, which was attended by care leavers. In this session, Partnership for Young London staff shared awareness-raising resources and facilitated a workshop exploring voter registration and voter ID requirements.   

In total, they delivered 11 in-person events attended by 113 people and five online events attended by 160 people. 

• 80 percent of participants, engaged via in-person or online events, had an increased awareness of the Voter ID requirement as a result of this project, compared with their previous knowledge 
• 80 percent of respondents reported an increased understanding of the democratic system as a result of this project/ activity 
• 40 percent of respondents reported that they are ready to use their democratic rights to vote as a result of taking part in this project/ activity, which shows that more works needs to be done with this under-represented groups to ensure they trust and feel they can take up their civic and democratic rights   

Many participants expressed an interest in participating in the upcoming elections but faced challenges in acquiring accepted photo Voter ID. Additionally, many of them lacked confidence in navigating the bureaucratic process and felt disconnected from mainstream politics. From this event, Partnership for Young London noted that the project would need to include tailored workshops and information sessions specifically designed to demystify the application process, and address any concerns or questions raised by participants.  

“Louisa was amazing as usual, we had a great response from our young adults. We will be revisiting the ID process with you to ensure they are given every opportunity to register to vote.” 
Bexley CiCC  

At another project event delivered in Wandsworth, Partnership for Young London delivered a session to 11 young people attending a leaving-care group. The session helped them to understand how to register to vote, and the changes in the law; and explored how voting allows individuals to influence policy locally and regionally. A diverse group of care leavers voiced concerns about the complexity of the voter ID application process and lacked awareness of their eligibility to vote. Some participants mistakenly believed they could face legal repercussions for not engaging in the political system.   

The group proposed intervention involving a targeted outreach campaign aimed at raising awareness, and dispelling misconceptions surrounding voter registration and participation. This campaign would use various communication channels, including social media, community events, and partnerships with local schools and youth organisations to reach a wide audience of care leavers. Partnership for Young London provided the following testimony from this event:  

“I want to start off by saying thank you very much for coming down and doing a great presentation to the young people. You engaged well with them, and they found it easy to relate to you, they really appreciated that you understood their journeys and were so comfortable with your presence. Your delivery was the right tone to connect with the young people.”