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Civic participation and youth voice England Clear all

Mental health and wellbeing

Care Before Crisis: How the UK government can turn the tide on young people's mental health (Mind 2025 report on young people's mental health, drivers of worsening mental health, impact of long waits, costs of failing to intervene early, benefits of early intervention, Young Futures Hubs)

Mind · 2025

This report by Mind examines the worsening state of young people's mental health in England, finding that over half a million young people are on waiting lists for support, with many reaching crisis point before receiving any care. It identifies key drivers including financial insecurity, academic pressure, social media, and cuts to youth services, and makes the case for early intervention as both more effective and more cost-efficient than crisis care. The report calls on the UK government to scale up its Young Futures Hubs programme to cover every local authority area by 2035, backed by sustainable multi-year funding, and sets out a wider package of reforms to reduce NHS waiting times and tackle mental health inequalities.

SurveyMixed methodsEngland

Mental health and wellbeing

Youth participation in HeadStart: young people’s perspectives

National Lottery Community Fund (HeadStart) · 2023

This qualitative study explored the perspectives and experiences of 11 young people (aged 15–22) who were involved in co-creating and delivering mental health and wellbeing activities across the six HeadStart partnerships in England. Young people reported that participation improved their confidence, resilience, social-emotional skills and sense of agency, and that it helped create more youth-friendly mental health services. Key enablers of meaningful participation included strong, trusting relationships with staff, safe and inclusive spaces, and flexibility in how young people were involved. Young people were critical of tokenistic engagement from outside organisations and expressed sadness at the end of the funded programme.

Young people consultedInterviewEngland

Employment, skills and economic security

Youth Voice Census Report 2022

Youth Employment UK · 2022

The 2022 Youth Voice Census surveyed 4,083 young people aged 11–30 in England about their experiences of education, employment, and life in their local area. Key findings highlight an escalating mental health crisis, with anxiety a leading barrier to work and education; widespread feelings of unpreparedness for employment; and persistent inequalities for young people with protected characteristics, care experience, and those eligible for free school meals. The report also documents declining confidence in job application skills and ongoing disruption to careers education and work experience stemming from COVID-19.

SurveyInterviewEngland

Mental health and wellbeing

National Youth Strategy Research Project: Young Person's Report

Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) · 2025

This report summarises findings from a large-scale consultation with over 14,000 young people aged 10–21 (or up to 25 with SEND) in England, conducted to inform the government's National Youth Strategy. Young people identified five key themes: wellbeing, community, skills and opportunities, safety and security, and youth voice. Top concerns included mental health access, financial insecurity, lack of community spaces, online safety, and feeling unheard in decisions that affect their lives. The report highlights that challenges are interconnected and locally shaped, and calls for greater government investment in mental health services, recreational spaces, and life skills education.

Co-producedSurveyFocus groupEngland

Civic participation and youth voice

In Our Own Words: Research Exploring the Needs and Preferences of Young People and Youth Practitioners in England

UK Youth · 2025

This report presents findings from qualitative research commissioned by the National Citizen Service (NCS) and conducted by UK Youth to explore the needs and preferences of young people and youth practitioners across England in relation to youth provision. Key findings include strong support for open-access, centre-based youth provision as a foundation for wellbeing and development; unmet demand for one-to-one mentoring and mental health support; and significant workforce and funding pressures in the sector. The report also examines how digital tools are being used in youth work and highlights the challenges practitioners face in keeping young people safe online, particularly in the context of the 2024 racist riots in England.

InterviewFocus groupEngland

Employment, skills and economic security

Youth Voice Census Report 2021

Youth Employment UK · 2021

The 2021 Youth Voice Census gathered the views and experiences of over 3,400 young people aged 14–24 across England on education, employment, and life in their local area. Key findings show widespread disconnection: only 9.9% of young people were confident they could find quality work where they live, and 81.9% felt there were not enough opportunities to share their views on important issues. Mental health concerns emerged as a top barrier across all groups — those in education, looking for work, and in employment — with inequalities by gender, ethnicity, free school meals eligibility, and additional needs running throughout the data.

SurveyEngland

Employment, skills and economic security

Youth Sector Workforce Survey Report 2024

National Youth Agency · 2024

This report by the National Youth Agency profiles the youth work workforce in England, drawing on nearly 1,000 survey responses and eight focus groups conducted in late 2023 and early 2024. It finds the workforce is ageing, predominantly white and female, with 59% having worked in the sector for over 10 years and only 6% for less than one year. The report highlights a critical shortage of qualified youth workers amid rising demand — particularly around mental health and wellbeing support — driven by funding cuts, low salaries, and barriers to gaining professional qualifications. It makes a series of recommendations to government for rebuilding the workforce through a national strategy, apprenticeship reform, and investment in research.

SurveyFocus groupEngland

Employment, skills and economic security

The Long Road to Change: Annual Survey 2023

Young Women's Trust · 2023

Young Women's Trust's 2023 annual survey finds that young women aged 18–30 in England and Wales are experiencing worsening financial hardship, persistent pay inequality, and rising levels of workplace discrimination compared to 2022. Half of young women reported experiencing discrimination at work, up from 42% the previous year, while 56% described their financial situation as uncomfortable. The survey also highlights compounding disadvantages for racially minoritised young women and those who are disabled, neurodivergent, or have mental health conditions. Findings are compared with a parallel survey of HR decision-makers, revealing significant gaps between employer perceptions and young women's lived experiences.

Young people consultedSurveyInterviewEnglandWales

Mental health and wellbeing

The Impact of Covid-19 on England's Youth Organisations

UK Youth · 2021

This report presents findings from a large-scale questionnaire completed by 1,759 youth organisations across England during November 2020, capturing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector and the young people they serve. Key findings show that 64% of participating organisations were at financial risk of closure within 12 months, with reduced income, increased costs, and depleted reserves driving the crisis. Youth organisations reported a substantial increase in demand for services — particularly around mental health, employment, and vulnerability to negative activities — while their capacity to respond was severely curtailed by restrictions and financial pressures. The report calls for urgent, unrestricted long-term funding and non-financial support to prevent widespread closure and help organisations rebuild their workforce and adapt services.

SurveyOtherEngland

Criminal justice and youth violence

Sharing Power, Showing Understanding (Peer Action Collective)

Peer Action Collective / The Young Foundation · 2025

The Peer Action Collective (PAC) is a youth-led peer research and social action programme across England and Wales, engaging young people at risk of or with lived experience of violence. Over the 2023–2025 phase, 5,158 young people aged 10–25 were involved across 10 community organisations. The research found that young people feel violence pervades their communities, online spaces, and travel routes; that relationships with adults are often experienced as disempowering and lacking empathy; and that mental health support is inconsistent and frequently crisis-led. PAC teams translated these findings into local social action, including campaigns on online safety, safe travel, youth forums, school behaviour management, and emotional wellbeing tools.

Youth-ledInterviewFocus groupEnglandWales

Health and physical wellbeing

Healthcare Transition Report 2024-2025

Barnardo's (NHS Young Researchers / NHS Youth Forum) · 2025

This report by NHS Young Researchers (part of the NHS Youth Forum) investigates young people's experiences of transitioning between paediatric and adult NHS services. Surveying 106 young people and 16 parents/carers, the research found that no respondents began transition within the NHS-recommended age window of 11–13; the average start age was 16.6 years, and many experienced abrupt, unstructured handovers with poor communication between services. Key harms included young people being left without any healthcare support, negative mental health impacts, and a gap in provision for 16–18-year-olds. The report recommends national transition policy reform, better communication between services, holistic person-centred care, and healthcare worker training led by young people with lived experience.

Co-producedSurveyMixed methodsEngland

Criminal justice and youth violence

IOPC Youth Panel National Survey Report

IOPC / Leaders Unlocked · 2022

This youth-led national survey gathered views from 1,957 young people aged 13–25 across England and Wales on their experiences of policing and the police complaints system. It found that while most young people (70%) trust their local police to some degree, 37% said their trust had declined over the past year, largely due to high-profile misconduct cases. Young people expressed low confidence that complaints would make a difference (83%), widespread ignorance of how to complain, and a strong desire for a truly independent complaints channel. The report sets out practical recommendations for policing and the IOPC on rebuilding trust, improving complaints accessibility, and better recognising the needs of young people — particularly young Black women and those with mental health or neurodivergent needs.

Youth-ledSurveyMixed methodsEnglandWales

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