These are the issues that matter the most to Sheffield teenagers

Five teenagers from the youth cabinet went to the Town Hall to present the results of the ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot which saw 10,288 young people vote on the issues they care about.

The five young people who attended each represented the area where they live - North, South, East and West Sheffield to present the findings.

The top three issues were mental health, knife crime and the current environmental crisis. Littering was also among the issues that matter to those who voted.

18-year-old youth councillor, Robin Gibbins, who has held the role for eight months, said: “The top three issues we found in the results of the vote was knife crime, mental health and environmental issues. I think this has given young people a voice and it’s showing that young people have an understanding now of what affects their future.”

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When asked about how the meeting went, he said: “I think it has been one of the best ones so far. It’s provided us with a strong communication with the council to explain the results of the ballot and we can put our suggestions forward for problems identified by the ballot. The councillors have links to authorities that we can go and speak to about working on some of these issues.

“For example we’ve talked about knife crime, they have the contacts to input the ideas and the council can make the change.” he added.

Coun Mick Rooney, chair of the meeting said of the Sheffield Youth Cabinet: “It’s a brilliant idea - something that needs to exist. It’s a start to giving us and them an understanding of what the youth care about today.” He said.

“It’s been enjoyable - there’s been a variety of views and I was surprised that litter would be on the top of the list of the ballot results. I didn’t know that would be at the top of the list.” Councillor Rooney added.