ESSEX County Councillor Ray Gooding, Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning is urging young people, youth workers, parents, carers and the wider Essex community to have their say on the future of youth services in the county.

Cllr Gooding said: “We are a week into a consultation to look at the future design of the Youth Services and I’m disappointed that feedback so far seems to think that decisions have been made. I would like to stress that no decisions have been taken and it is incredibly important that people feel that their views are valued and will count towards influencing any decision I have to make.”

Cllr Gooding continued: “The consultation runs until 20 November and only at the end of this six week period, when all feedback has been considered, will I then make a decision on the future of Essex Youth Services. I absolutely understand that people are passionate about the youth provision across the county and value the service it provides which is why participation in the consultation is so important. ”

The consultation, plus all accompanying literature and documentation will be available in full until Wednesday 20 November on www.essexinsight.org.uk/consultations.

To submit further comments complete the questionnaire or email [email protected]

Due to the volume of correspondence expected Essex County Council will not respond to individual enquiries or comments but these will be considered as part of the consultation response.