Youth Combined Authority

About Greater Manchester’s equality panels

The Greater Manchester Equality Panels have been established to advise, support and challenge Greater Manchester’s political leaders and policy-makers to tackle the discrimination and disadvantage that cause injustice and inequality in society, and champion Greater Manchester as an inclusive city-region. They do this by working together with the GMCA and partners to:

• Provide insight into Greater Manchester’s diverse communities, enabling political leaders and public bodies to listen and engage in a more targeted and effective way
• Communicate key messages to our communities as trusted sources
• Co-design policies, programmes and strategies to ensure they work effectively for communities
• Support an asset-based approach, highlighting new opportunities (and challenges) for positive collaboration that build on the resources and strengths within our communities

The Youth Combined Authority is one of seven equality panels established and funded by the GMCA. Other equality panels include:

• Disabled People’s Equality Panel
• Faith and Belief Advisory Panel
• LGBTQ+ Equality Panel
• Race Equality Panel
• Older People’s Equality Panel
• Women and Girls' Equality Panel

Aims of the Youth Combined Authority

The YCA was created in February 2018. It was the first of its kind in the country.

The YCA gives young people in Greater Manchester the opportunity to have their voices heard and influence GMCA policy and decision making.

Its work comprises of:

• Advising the Mayor and GMCA on key issues and concerns of young people, and provide solutions
• Providing a critical voice and scrutinise the work of the Mayor and GMCA
• Undertaking specific pieces of work (for example, developing ‘Our Pass’ the free bus travel card for young people, and contributing to Greater Manchester’s annual Green Summits)

Over its first three years, the YCA has been influencing policies, strategies and decisions on a number of different issues, and have championed the voice of young people across Greater Manchester. Its key achievements include:

• Helping to create Our Pass (external website), providing free bus travel across Greater Manchester for 16-18 year olds, supporting school leavers and care leavers
• Presenting at Youth Select Committees on Curriculum for Life and Knife Crime (PDF, 2.9MB)
• Speaking at the Northern Power Futures Conference and two Conferences of the North
• Contributing to Greater Manchester’s annual Green Summit conferences, including taking part in a question-and-answer sessions with the Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region
• Co-hosting the Meet Your Future launch event in April 2019
• Featuring on BBC North West’s Sunday Politics programme

In addition, the YCA has recently published its Vision for 2022-24 (see link in 'further information' below). Each of the areas within the Vision document will be discussed during members’ monthly meetings over their two-year cycle, with space for members to generate ideas, campaigns, and influence policy, within these areas.

• Equity, Equality and Inclusion: Who we see, how we are made to feel and how we challenge

• Health and Wellbeing (Physical and Mental): Being Happy and Healthy – how we feel, what we eat and how we move

• The Environment: How we value this planet

• Covid Recovery: How we get about and what we can achieve.

Working groups

The YCA has also established a number of working groups to focus on particular projects and issues. Whilst there are not any current working groups, previous groups have included:

• Curriculum for Life Working Group: formed to contribute towards the formation of Greater Manchester’s Curriculum for Life, a plan to address gaps in skills and learning and equip young people for life by working with schools, colleges, youth clubs, as well as employers across the city-region
• Health Working Group: with a particular focus on mental health and the environment, the group informed the priorities of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Board and planned a Health Conference for 137 young people
• Environment Working Group: have helped contribute young people’s voices to Greater Manchester’s annual Green Summit events.

We are always looking for interested young people to join the working groups. If you are interested, please email youth.gmca@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk   

Membership

The YCA is made up of 26 youth groups: 10 are the Youth Councils of Greater Manchester; 16 are organisations that represent young people from a diverse range of identities and backgrounds in our city-region.

Each organisation nominates two young people to represent it – making a total of 52 members. Each member is aged between 11 and 18 (or up to 25 for those with additional needs) and serves for up to two years.

The current members were chosen in March 2022 by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and the portfolio lead for Young People and Social Cohesion (at the time), Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, Bury Council.

The current member organisations of YCA, along with their Twitter and Instagram handles, are listed in the table below. The table contains links to external websites.

Contact the Youth Combined Authority

The YCA is facilitated by Youth Focus North West (external website). To get in touch with them, please email Trish on t.cartner@youthfocusnw.org.uk

You can also get in touch with the group by emailing youth.gmca@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

You can keep up to date and get involved with the Youth Combined Authority by following us on Twitter and Instagram.

Further information

(YCA Report January 2020 to December 2021 PDF, 8.9MB)

(YCA - Terms of Reference PDF, 276KB)

(YCA Vision PDF 2022-24),  4.7MB)

(YCA Vision 2022-24 Accessible ODT, 19kb)