North Ayrshire: Youth Joint Cabinet meeting outlines hopes

The morning session on Tuesday, May 16, was the latest in a series of joint meetings involving North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet, senior officers, Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and the Youth Council Executive.

During the round-table discussions this year, the format was shaken up to include a combination of listening to the experience of young people directly and encouraging the young people to also share feedback using a QR code directing them to the council’s new Youth Participation digital platform.

Councillors and officials bring together all North Ayrshire secondary schools throughout the year to ensure the council listens and responds to what young people say about how the local authority operates – this meeting was one such session.

Youth Joint Cabinet is a bi-annual meeting providing a unique opportunity for young people to speak directly to local policy makers and have lively discussions on the issues that matter the most to them.

Before this week’s meeting, young people were encouraged to share their views online.

With 500 responses from local young people, the key discussion themes identified for the Joint Cabinet agenda covered: Climate Change and Sustainability, Inequalities, Health and Wellbeing, UNCRC (United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child), Opportunities for Young People and the Cost of Living

Representing all of North Ayrshire’s secondary schools, 110 young people were in attendance to have the chance to participate in round-the-table conversations on they key themes.

The young people from Irvine Royal, Greenwood, St Matthews, Kilwinning, Largs, Auchenharvie, Ardrossan, Garnock Community Campus, Arran High and Lockhart Campus were then invited to put their questions to the policy makers and have them answered.

Mais Al Diri, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Cunninghame North, was a panel member at the event.

Mais 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.

“Joint Cabinet is a vital way for young people to express their views and get answers to the questions they want to ask. It shows that our young people are some of the most engaged in the country as they spoke with passion and determination.”

Councillor Shaun Macaulay, cabinet member for education and young people, added: “Young people are at the heart of the council’s decision-making, and we care deeply about their point of view. Together, we discussed a whole variety of issues and the young people challenged us on some of the decisions being made.

“I continue to be so inspired by how driven, switched-on and influential our young people are when it comes to contributing to local decision-making. Everyone who spoke up should be really proud of themselves.

“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 while amplifying the issues of most concern to their peers across North Ayrshire.”

North Ayrshire young people’s champion Chloe Robertson said afterwards: “Thank you to everyone taking part and to those who had the confidence to share their own views on behalf of young people across North Ayrshire.

“I hope that the young people come away feeling a sense of achievement as they are the catalyst for real and positive change across North Ayrshire.

“Youth Joint Cabinet is a brilliant example of how young people are at the heart of the council’s decision making on all polices and strategies affecting them, and I felt in really good company as all of the passionate young people laid out the swift and necessary actions that they feel are necessary if we are to build a better North Ayrshire for all.”

Following the meeting, the feedback gained will be used to form a Youth Joint Cabinet Action Plan where the council will make necessary improvements going forward.