Constitution of the Isle of Wight Youth Council

Revised by the Chairship in May 2025

Ratified 3 June 2025

Purpose of the Isle of Wight Youth Council

  1. The Purpose of the Isle of Wight Youth Council (hereafter referred to as IWYC) is:
    1. To work on behalf of the young people of the Isle of Wight,
    2. To work in cooperation with the Isle of Wight Council,
    3. To increase young people’s influence over issues and decisions which concern young people,
    4. And to develop, empower, and influence issues and outcomes for the benefit of young people on the
    5. And the IWYC shall be bound to consider its purpose in all resolutions and activities undertaken.

Aims of the Isle of Wight Youth Council

  1. The IWYC aims to be a link between the young people of the Island, the Isle of Wight Council, and other appropriate organisations, subsequently the aims of the IWYC shall be:
    1. To provide the Isle of Wight Council and other appropriate authorities with the views of young people, both in relation to matters of concern, and to Council initiatives, and to raise the awareness of young people and increase their participation in democratic, decision making processes,
    2. To receive and consider information from all departments of the Isle of Wight Council on issues of significance to young people for consultation and comment,
    3. To work in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council to help them arrive at decisions which benefit all young people,
    4. To keep its members informed of all decisions and actions taken
    5. To work with other bodies representing young people.
  2. And the IWYC shall be bound to consider its aims in all resolutions and activities undertaken.

Membership of The Youth Council

  1. The IWYC shall consist of a maximum of 24 young people appointed by the Chair of the Council through means of co-option, though if the number of prospective members exceeds this number the Chair of the IWYC shall be bound to call an election. The Member and Deputy Member of Youth Parliament shall automatically become members of the IWYC.
    1. The Members appointed through co-option or elected in the Youth Elections (which shall be the elections for the Islands Member of Youth Parliament or Council) shall be required to select at least one constituency that they feel they will be able to represent, the Member of Youth Parliament and their Deputy shall be exempt from this requirement.
    2. The Deputy Member of Youth Parliament along with all other members shall be empowered to stand for election to become an officer of the IWYC, the Member of Youth Parliament shall be automatically disqualified from standing for election to become an officer.
    3. The term of office shall be until the next Youth Elections are held, and this shall coincide with the expiration of the term that the Member of Youth Parliament is bound by (two years)
    4. A member may resign at any time by informing the Secretary in writing. Any members co-opted to fill a vacant place shall stay in place until the end of the term.
    5. A person will be automatically disqualified from serving as or standing to become a member of the IWYC if within five years of standing or in the course of their term they have received a prison sentence of three months or more, whether custodial or not.

Meetings and Communications

  1. The full IWYC will meet at least 10 times a year in County Hall. Members are expected to confirm to the Secretary if they are attending a meeting and if they cannot attend a meeting to send apologies to the Chair or to the Secretary, if a member fails to attend three times in a row without making apologies they will be asked to leave the Youth Council.
    1. Agendas and the minutes for the meetings will be distributed to all members.
    2. Issues will be decided by a simple majority of members present, the Chair may vote, but their vote is cast in the event of a tie.
    3. A quorum shall be not less than four members. If, at any meeting, there is no less than four members the meeting will be declared inquorate and cannot convene.
    4. Expulsion from the IWYC requires a majority vote from the IWYC for simple matters not threatening the Good Order and Governance of the IWYC or matters that threaten to bring the IWYC into disrepute. For matters that threaten the Good Order and Governance of the IWYC or threaten to bring the IWYC into disrepute the matter shall be decided upon by the executive with sensitivity.
    5. Communications shall be made to members via email to an email address to be in the following format: name.lastinitial.iwyc@gmail.com (eg. John.d.iwyc@gmail.com).

Powers of the Youth Council

  1. The IWYC shall have the powers to carry out lawful activities in order to achieve the aims of the organisation.
  2. The IWYC has the power to raise funds from external sources in the form of grants and any other means it deems to be necessary.

Officers of the Youth Council

  1. The IWYC shall have a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson, supported by a Secretary, and any other officers the IWYC decides it requires. The Chair and Vice Chair will be elected by the members of the IWYC at the start of the term.
    1. The Chairperson will be responsible for organising and running meetings of the IWYC as well as all executive functions relating to the management and operation of the IWYC, this may be delegated to the Vice Chair or Secretary if required. The Chairperson will also have the power to temporarily cease all debate on a topic and withhold any vote passed by the IWYC for no longer than a time period of three weeks.
    2. The Secretary shall be responsible for undertaking all minuting and other secretarial functions delegated by the chairperson.

The Central Committee

  1. The Central Committee will exist as an executive body to the IWYC. It will function as a group for selected officers to discuss current issues or topics and vote on minor items.
    1. The membership of the Central Committee shall consist of; the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, Member of Youth Parliament and an elected non-voting representative from the IWYC as a whole.
    2. The representative shall be elected by the IWYC (with the three permanent members of the Central Committee abstaining from the vote.) The representative shall stay in office for no longer than a term of three months before re-election. The representative's duties will be to take and deliver minutes of any Central Committee meeting to the IWYC.
    3. Any vote passed by the central committee will then be presented to the IWYC at a subsequent IWYC meeting. The vote passed by the committee will then become binding unless objected to by no less than half of any youth councillors present at that meeting.
    4. The Central Committee will be chaired by the Chairperson of the IWYC.

The Constitution

  1. This constitution may only be altered by a majority vote of the IWYC and must be revisited every two years. The IWYC shall be bound by the constitution in all activities it undertakes.

In this section