Young people make their voices heard at Joint Cabinet this week
Posted on 21 Mar 2024
Young people met with key Council decision makers at Saltcoats Town Hall this week to tackle a host of hard-hitting issues at the latest Youth Joint Cabinet meeting.
The morning session on Tuesday, March 19, was the latest in a series of joint meetings involving North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet and Senior Officers alongside Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and the Youth Council Executive.
Representing all of North Ayrshire’s secondary schools, over 100 young people attended from Irvine Royal, Greenwood, St Matthews, Kilwinning, Largs, Auchenharvie, Ardrossan, Garnock Community Campus, Arran High and Lockhart Campus.
Tuesday’s Joint Cabinet meeting is the latest #youthparticipation milestone in 2024, with other events already underway featuring representation from North Ayrshire, such as the Youth Executive, school youth forums and Pupils Parliament’s.
Joint Cabinet is a vital part of the Council’s Youth Participation strategy, it allows pupils to learn more about how their local authority operates, while forming an important part of the Council’s approach to give young people a voice.
During the round-table discussions, the format included a combination of listening to the experience of young people directly and encouraging attendees to scan a QR code and contribute online via the Council’s Youth Participation digital platform.
The discussions of the latest Youth Joint Cabinet centred around:
- Budget Engagement – Closing the Engagement Loop
- Employability and Next Steps
- Space and Places for Young People
- Bullying
- The Cost of Living
Emma Burns, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Cunninghame South, was a panel member at the event. She said: “North Ayrshire was the first - and is one of only two local authorities - in Scotland to host an annual Joint Cabinet meeting with young people.
“Youth Joint Cabinet is such a brilliant opportunity to bring young people together and put them in front of policy makers and decision makers who can demonstrate to our peers that we remain at the heart of the Council’s decision making on all polices and strategies affecting young people.
“If you have something you want to say on an issue important to you, please let us know.* Your voice will be listened to and actioned upon.”
The bi-annual meeting was one in a series organised by the Council’s Youth Services team as part of their ongoing work to encourage participation and citizenship.
Council Leader Marie Burns said: “As a child and youth-centred Council, young people are at the heart of the Council’s decision-making, and we care deeply about their point of view.
“Joint Cabinet is a fantastic example of how the Council is championing North Ayrshire’s Youth Participation Strategy to meet with young people in-person to hear their views.
“Following the announcement of the Council’s Budget 2024/25, this week’s meeting was an important opportunity for our young attendees to challenge us on some of the decisions being made. We do not underestimate just how important these joint meetings are.
“The feedback is now being collated and will give the Council’s Cabinet and Leadership team a clear demonstration of how vital it is to involve our young people in Council business and what actions we need to take forward.
“It can be daunting standing up for what you believe in, but our young people showed strength and courage as they made their voices heard this week, thank you. Every one should be really proud of themselves.”
The Council Leader also recognised the area’s local members of Scottish Youth Parliament in attendance:
“Thank to our new MSYPs – Adam, Rhyan, Freya and Emma – for attending their first Joint Cabinet meeting as Members of Scottish Youth Parliament. I have no doubt that secondary pupils and those attending youth clubs and events will be seeing a lot more of them. As a Council we look forward to working with our new MSYPs and the Executive Youth Forum to take forward as many actions as we can.”
Visit the Council webpage: Youth groups and organisations (north-ayrshire.gov.uk) for more info on how you can make a difference by getting involved in #youthparticipation
*If young people want to raise an issue of their own, they can email: youthservices@north-ayrshire.gov.ukorsend a DM toFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nayouthservices or X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/NAYouthServices