Over 100 people gathered at the House of Lords on 7 March to hear about the problems faced by young people with a learning disability or communication difficulty, and to celebrate Raising Your Game’s first 18 months.

Guests included professionals from the prison service and youth offending teams, plus members of the House of Lords and MPs. The event was hosted by Mencap’s president Lord Rix. He introduced the event’s speakers, who each demonstrated a different aspect of the project’s success.

They included Vicky Hiles, a learning disability consultant with Raising Your Game,  Albert Tucker from the Big Lottery Fund, Nacro chief executive Paul McDowell and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Speech and Language Difficulties and former chief inspector of prisons Lord Ramsbotham.

“By providing the right support, we aim to reduce, not only the personal cost of offending on the lives of young people and their families, but also the cost to the community as a whole.”
Paul McDowell, Nacro

Guests also had the opportunity to speak to the young people involved in Raising Your Game, and hear their experiences and inspiring stories.