YOUNG people should have a bigger say in decisions that affect them, a North Yorkshire County Council report has said.

The report, called Engaging Young People, has been drawn up by the authority's best value review team.

The report says: "Young people in North Yorkshire are not apathetic or disengaged from the issues that the council and its decision makers address. They are ready and willing to discuss a broad range of public policy issues.

"Common issues include crime and personal safety, education, facilities for young people and the state of the local environment."

"They are not switched off from the issues that form the foundations of political decision-making but they are less enamoured with the way we "do" politics - conventional politics suffers from an image problem."

Chairwoman Councillor Margaret Hulme said:"We had evidence that the council is behind the pace of so many organisations in making a strategic commitment to the young participation agenda.

"The aim is to establish dialogue with young people's groups in the county, and develop ideas to get them involved."