Interview with Pam Chesters

Pam Chesters is the Mayor’s Health and Youth Opportunities Advisor. She joined the GLA in May 2009 after working in a variety of different areas, including the oil industry, hospitals, charities and trusts. Gemma Howell, 18, from the Mayor’s Children and Young People’s Unit spoke to her.

The interview

You’ve done a lot of different jobs before coming to the GLA. Can you tell us a bit about them?
Well I started off with 20 years in the oil industry and later chaired the charity, Action for Children. I then became a councillor for Camden Council and Chair of the Royal Free Hospital Trust. My last role before the GLA was chair of the English Churches Housing Group. I think the sheer variety of my past roles provides me with good insight into my current one!

What about your role at the GLA?
One of my main responsibilities here is to look after the Mayor’s programme for children and young people. I really love working on children and young people’s issues, it’s so important for the future.

In your area of work, what works?
I’m a firm believer that prevention is better than cure. I’m keen that the GLA does more work on this, giving support to children and families early on and before any problems reach a crisis point. So for example, one way of reducing child poverty would be to make it easier for families to get help with childcare. Also we could improve the experiences of children in care in London and the help they get with their future.

We need to look beyond the statistics. Say you help a young person get keys to a flat or a place of residence, then stop the support immediately afterwards, that might look good on paper, but you could lose them without the ongoing support.

Your job title includes ‘youth’ but not ‘children’. Does that mean that the Mayor is more interested in helping teenagers than a younger age group?
No, not at all! It’s just a job title remember, and if it included everything else I look after it would get far too long and complicated. Another thing to remember is that the Mayor has more powers in relation to the youth end of the age range, for instance on skills, training and employment.

Part of your role relates to health. What health issues right now affect young people?
Well in the Young Londoners Survey nearly all the young people who responded said they were mainly healthy. Yet, we know that a lot of young Londoners are obese. I think it’s all about the decisions people make. If you educate young people it should be their choice whether or not to live a healthy lifestyle, they can make an informed choice.

The GLA also wants to make sure that sexual health services are accessible to young people. So the GLA’s Peer Outreach Worker Team are doing a ‘mystery shopping’ project, basically going to clinics, to not only inspect the service, but to find out how they feel afterwards about the staff and other stuff.

Does you think negative crime related news overshadows young people’s achievements in the media?
Yes, but unfortunately crime and ‘bad news’ generally sells more papers. I strongly believe the majority of young people are good people. It was clear to the Mayor, Boris Johnson, during last year’s election that people were really worried about the impact of serious youth violence – which can destroy the lives of victims, their families and those committing the crime. That’s why he developed the ‘Time for Action’ programme, which includes making sure young people stay engaged in school and college.

I also must stress young people need their own spaces, so the Mayor is improving parks so that youngsters don’t have to hang around street corners. He is also spending more on improving youth projects and activities.

Youth unemployment is a real problem. What is the Mayor doing to provide more positive work opportunities for young people?
I believe the Mayor and the GLA group as a whole is going to make a real difference on this. There are plans for several thousand work apprenticeships for young people over the next three years. Hopefully this will encourage businesses and other local authorities to follow suit.

Finally, do you have any message for young Londoners?
Yes, we want you to get in touch via the Young London website! This is just a start though and there are many more plans in the pipeline to better engage with young people, so watch this space!

Young people should enjoy what London has to offer and get involved in their city. They can make a real difference and let’s not forget young Londoners are the future.

Thanks Pam!

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		Interview with Pam Chesters Pam Chesters is the Mayor’s Health and Youth Opportunities Advisor. She joined the GLA in May 2009 after working in a variety of different areas, including the oil industry, hospitals, charities and trusts. Gemma Howell, 18, from the Mayor’s Children and Young People’s Unit spoke to her. The interview You’ve done a lot of different jobs before coming to the GLA. Can you tell us a bit about them? Well I started off with 20 years in the oil industry and later chaired the charity, Action for Children. I then became a councillor for Camden Council and Chair of the Royal Free Hospital Trust. My last role before the GLA was chair of the English Churches Housing Group. I think the sheer variety of my past roles provides me with good insight into my current one! What about your role at the GLA? One of my main responsibilities here is to look after the Mayor’s programme for children and young people. I really love working on children and young people’s issues, it’s so important for the future. In your area of work, what works? I’m a firm believer that prevention is better than cure. I’m keen that the GLA does more work on this, giving support to children and families early on and before any problems reach a crisis point. So for example, one way of reducing child poverty would be to make it easier for families to get help with childcare. Also we could improve the experiences of children in care in London and the help they get with their future. We need to look beyond the statistics. Say you help a young person get keys to a flat or a place of residence, then stop the support immediately afterwards, that might look good on paper, but you could lose them without the ongoing support. Your job title includes ‘youth’ but not ‘children’. Does that mean that the Mayor is more interested in helping teenagers than a younger age group? No, not at all! It’s just a job title remember, and if it included everything else I look after it would get far too long and complicated. Another thing to remember is that the Mayor has more powers in relation to the youth end of the age range, for instance on skills, training and employment. Part of your role relates to health. What health issues right now affect young people? Well in the Young Londoners Survey nearly all the young people who responded said they were mainly healthy. Yet, we know that a lot of young Londoners are obese. I think it’s all about the decisions people make. If you educate young people it should be their choice whether or not to live a healthy lifestyle, they can make an informed choice. The GLA also wants to make sure that sexual health services are accessible to young people. So the GLA’s Peer Outreach Worker Team are doing a ‘mystery shopping’ project, basically going to clinics, to not only inspect the service, but to find out how they feel afterwards about the staff and other stuff. Does you think negative crime related news overshadows young people’s achievements in the media? Yes, but unfortunately crime and ‘bad news’ generally sells more papers. I strongly believe the majority of young people are good people. It was clear to the Mayor, Boris Johnson, during last year’s election that people were really worried about the impact of serious youth violence – which can destroy the lives of victims, their families and those committing the crime. That’s why he developed the ‘Time for Action’ programme, which includes making sure young people stay engaged in school and college. I also must stress young people need their own spaces, so the Mayor is improving parks so that youngsters don’t have to hang around street corners. He is also spending more on improving youth projects and activities. Youth unemployment is a real problem. What is the Mayor doing to provide more positive work opportunities for young people? I believe the Mayor and the GLA group as a whole is going to make a real difference on this. There are plans for several thousand work apprenticeships for young people over the next three years. Hopefully this will encourage businesses and other local authorities to follow suit. Finally, do you have any message for young Londoners? Yes, we want you to get in touch via the Young London website! This is just a start though and there are many more plans in the pipeline to better engage with young people, so watch this space! Young people should enjoy what London has to offer and get involved in their city. They can make a real difference and let’s not forget young Londoners are the future. Thanks Pam! Go to top of page