MENTAL health, knife crime and equal pay are the three biggest concerns raised in a ballot filled by young people in the borough.

More than 17,000 young people in Leigh and Wigan aged from 11 to 17 have completed the national Make Your Mark ballot forms, which is co-ordinated by the UK Youth Parliament.

Opinions expressed ask for an improvement in young people receiving help with mental health and calls on the Government to do more to end knife crime.

The view that young people should be paid the same amount of money as adults for the same work is the other major issue that has been raised the most.

Wigan and Leigh Youth Cabinet member Anthony Pasquile, 15, from Leigh, said: "Promoting Make Your Mark in schools was hard work.

"It wasn’t easy to stand in front of 800 students in a full school assembly and ask people to vote. So the results feel like a big accomplishment."

The ballot, which was facilitated by Wigan Council and young people from Wigan and Leigh Youth Parliament, attracted 17,191 votes from young people.

This makes the borough 10th across the UK for votes generated and equates to a 57 per cent turnout.

On Friday, UK Youth Parliament member for Wigan and Leigh, William Powell, 14, deputy member Samuel Miller, 15, went to the House of Commons for the UK Youth Parliament’s annual sitting.

Along with other Youth Parliament members from across the UK, they debated and voted for the issues that the UK Youth Parliament should campaign on nationally over the next year.

Tomorrow, Friday, young people from high schools across the borough have been invited to discuss mental health as part of a debate event to mark UK Parliament Week.

William said: "I think mental health came out as the issue with the most votes because it’s something everyone can relate to.

"Young people from Wigan and Leigh Youth Cabinet chose mental health as the subject for the debate after we saw the results from the Make Your Mark ballot.

"Yvonne Fovargue, MP, and other decision makers will attend to listen to the young people’s ideas."

A group of professional representatives from organisations including North West Boroughs Healthcare, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Wigan Borough CCG, Wigan Council, schools, GP’s and voluntary groups have recently come together to create the Future in Mind group.

The group aims to improve young people’s mental health support across the borough.

Representatives from the group will also attend the young people’s debate on Friday.

Chair of Future in Mind, GP Dr Jayne Davies, said: "It’s not a surprise to us that so many young people have voted for mental health as the issue they’re most concerned about.

"We understand how important it is and are keen to offer the best services and support possible for young people in Wigan borough.

"We want to improve services in partnership with young people to make sure that the services we develop are the ones that will make the most difference to them."

Cllr Jenny Bullen, portfolio holder for children and young people’s services at the council, said: "It’s fantastic that so many local young people took the trouble to vote in this ballot.

"I’d also like to say thank you to all of the local high schools who worked in partnership with us to support this work.

"We’re committed to listening to our young people and I’m looking forward to working with them to further improve our mental health services and the support available for them."