YOUNG people in York are being failed by council bosses, it was claimed today.

Coun David Scott, the Young People's Champion at City of York Council, slammed authority chiefs for cancelling the last two scheduled meetings of the Young People's Working Group.

He said: "It's appalling because this is the second time the meeting of the Young People's Working Group has been cancelled.

"This group is supposed to support me in my role as Young People's Champion. I have lots of plans for work, but how can I actually change anything unless I have the cooperation and support of the council? It is so important that the council involve young people in the democratic process."

Coun Scott said he was also disappointed not to have received a reply from Ceredig Jamieson-Ball, the council's executive member for youth and social inclusion, to a question he asked at a full council meeting.

He added: "It's worrying because if meetings continue to be cancelled, then no progress can be made. It's a big concern because all these occasions lead me to seriously doubt the Liberal Democrats' commitment to the importance of social inclusion issues. If we are to have a truly representative council, then we need to engage different kinds of people through these groups. The Lib Dems really need to start making social inclusion a top priority."

Coun Jamieson-Ball said: "Coun Scott is trying to hide the fact his party have no positive policies for young people. It was the Lib Dems who introduced the Young People's Champion and set up the Social Inclusion Working Group in the first place.

"The Lib Dems' increased investment for holiday activities for young people has seen attendances triple from about 15,000 under Labour to more than 50,000 last year.

"Only two meetings have been rearranged, due to senior staff changes. We are concentrating resources currently into the youth teams out in the community and the new one-stop shop for youth services in Castlegate."