Almost 7,000 Thurrock young people have voted - for raising the living wage, and better "life preparation" at school.

Top of the list for Thurrock young people was raising the living wage to £7.85 an hour for 16+, a "life preparation" school curriculum and better transport.

The Make Your Mark ballot is run by the UK Youth Parliament for Local Democracy Week -  and gives every young person – aged 11 to 18 - the chance to vote on their top issue from ten options.

Between mid-August and Saturday October 10, Thurrock council’s Youth Cabinet asked young people what their most important concerns were.

Top of the list in Thurrock was the living wage where everyone over 16 should be paid at least £7.85 an hour for their work – 1,406 people voted for this.

Just behind, with 1,033 votes, was “a curriculum to prepare us for life”, suggesting schools should cover topics like personal finances, sex and relationships, and politics in the curriculum.

Transport – making it “better and more accessible for all” was third.

Other topics on the ballot were votes at 16 (345), the end of austerity and child poverty (651), climate change (274), mental health (721), funding for youth services (228), tackling racism and religious discrimination (821), and extending special educational needs support (450).

In all there were 6,904 responses.

Councillor John Kent, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: “There are some fascinating results here, results that should give us all pause for thought.

“The Make Your Mark scheme is a great project for us in Thurrock, allowing the Youth Cabinet to take forward some of the top issues as well as giving we older politicians things to think about.

“On a national level the youth parliament is hoping to get over a million young people’s votes together and using them to support its 2016 national campaign – its current campaign is raising awareness of mental health.”

In the weeks and months ahead the Thurrock Youth Cabinet has several projects planned, including a youth conference in November and the launch of a youth drop-in service in early 2016.

To find out more about the Youth Cabinet’s activities and projects for young people in Thurrock contact @youngthurrock or facebook.com/youngthurrock, or go onto the Thurrock Council website.