Between September 2024 and March 2025, Beth Mackay MSYP (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) represented Scotland on the UK Youth Select Committee. The Youth Select Committee is a group of twelve young people from across the UK who are supported by the National Youth Agency and Houses of Parliament to hold an inquiry into issues that matter to them. In this blog, Beth shares her experiences of this opportunity.
The Youth Select Committee is made up of twelve young people from across the United Kingdom, with one member for each English region and devolved nation. I was really excited to be selected as the representative for Scotland.
A major part of the experience is the inquiry sessions, where we bring specialists or Members of Parliament into a panel session at the House of Commons to ask them questions. We heard from specialists in charities such as Power the Fight, The Social Switch Project and the Ben Kinsella Trust as well as many others! We also had Dame Diana Johnson MP and Baroness Jones of Whitchurch MP, who joined us for the panel! The inquiry lasted two days, and we held a total of five panels.
This year, we reviewed all the different topics young people suggested, and we decided to focus our inquiry on social media and knife crime.
To be in the position to hold an inquiry session in Westminster is such a privilege, and it was very easy to come out of your shell and work with everyone as we were all working together towards a common goal.
Over the next few months, the Parliament Clerks came together and wrote up our findings. The Youth Select Committee members then reviewed the report and gave feedback before the official release, and in March, we had our report launch!
The report aims to cover our findings on how social media can foster hate and spread misinformation, and how online communities can quickly share graphic content and glorify this violence. We also outlined what we believe the role of the government, social media companies, and users can play to solve this issue and reduce the young people affected by violent crime.
Our generation is the first to grow up around the online world, so being involved with decision-making surrounding the digital age is crucial to empower all young people for our future with technological developments.
The report launch day was one of the best experiences we could have ever asked for, as the uptake from the media of our report was incredible. We had coverage from loads of different outlets, and the online discussion of the report was constant over the course of the day. My highlight of the day was the phenomenal opportunity to visit 10 Downing Street! We toured the artwork on display and went inside some of the most influential rooms in the country. The team inside were wonderful and Larry the Cat even made a short appearance.
After our tour, we headed back to the Parliament building, where the official launch was held. It was a busy room, and it was an honour to have so many people in attendance. To name a few, we had Stephanie Peacock MP (the Minister of Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth), Madame Deputy Speaker Nusrat Ghani, as well as young people from local voluntary organisations! After our speeches, we were able to sign our reports and say what we thought would be our final goodbyes.
However, there was a rare opportunity to meet up again to be consulted by the House of Lords in the Communication and Digital Committee’s media literacy inquiry.
The committee were incredibly considerate. They formatted the session as a round table event and asked us questions based on our experience of media education in schools, online communities, and what we felt media literacy was rooted in and how we can equip ourselves for the future in an ever-changing digital landscape. We also discussed the overlaps of information we had found from our inquiries.
On 18th July 2025, the UK Government responded to our inquiry.
Over the last six months, my confidence has grown exponentially. Working with young people from across the nations allowed me to listen to the experiences of other young people around the UK and discuss my own, as I knew the topic would be felt with equal importance.
Opportunities like these are once in a lifetime. They showcase the key importance of youth work in young people’s lives and how crucial the experiences of young people are in government consultations. The Youth Select Committee was the driving force behind what this report became. Our opinions and knowledge provided the backbone for the inquiry, and we were able to gain information that backed it up while addressing new perspectives and points as well. This made the report truly ours, and it displays what is necessary for young people – a message powerful by the fact is written by young people.
