Sheffield Council leader could be forced to send letter to foreign secretary over extending youth mobility scheme

Sheffield Council’s Liberal Democrat group will ask the council leader to call the foreign secretary to talk to the European partners about extending the youth mobility scheme.Sheffield Council’s Liberal Democrat group will ask the council leader to call the foreign secretary to talk to the European partners about extending the youth mobility scheme.
Sheffield Council’s Liberal Democrat group will ask the council leader to call the foreign secretary to talk to the European partners about extending the youth mobility scheme.
Sheffield Council’s Liberal Democrat group will ask the council leader to call the foreign secretary to talk to the European partners about extending the youth mobility scheme.

At next week’s full council meeting at Sheffield Town Hall, the Liberal Democrats will table a motion to call on the government to “open negotiations with the EU and EEA to extend the Youth Mobility Scheme on a reciprocal basis to EU countries”.

The group wants Cllr Tom Hunt, the leader of Sheffield City Council, to write a letter to David Lammy, the foreign secretary, asking him to negotiate for expanded opportunities for young people to study, teach and volunteer abroad by returning to the Erasmus Plus programme as an associated country.

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Also, they want Mr Lammy to open discussions with the EU with the goal of reaching a reciprocal exemption from electronic travel authorisation schemes.

In the motion, the Liberal Democrats say in April 2024, the European Commission proposed a youth mobility scheme between the UK and the EU but it was rejected by the previous and current governments.

The motion said: “Red tape at the UK/EU border has prevented children from taking part in overseas educational trips and that the School Travel Forum has reported a 30 per cent reduction in overseas educational visits between 2019 and 2023.”

The group added that it wanted the council to declare that Sheffield’s universities, manufacturing and healthcare sectors, and the local economy would all benefit from accessing the youth mobility scheme.

The motion said: “Sheffield’s cultural offering, if given easier access to European countries, would enrich the lives of our neighbours.”

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