100 young people’s voices heard at Joint Cabinet
Young people met with key council decision-makers at Saltcoats Town Hall last week to tackle a range of hard-hitting issues at the latest Youth Joint Cabinet meeting.
Hosted by North Ayrshire Youth Services, part of the council’s Community Learning and Development team, the morning session was held on Tuesday 1 April.
It was the latest in a series of joint meetings involving North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet, senior education managers and other senior officers alongside Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and the Youth Council Executive.
Almost 100 pupils representing the secondary schools of Irvine Royal, Greenwood, St Matthew's, Kilwinning, Largs, Auchenharvie, Ardrossan, Garnock Community Campus, and Lockhart Campus, gave it their all in the action-packed session.
Pupils from Arran High School will be working directly with MSYP Emma Henderson who was in attendance at the youth participation event to feedback on everything discussed.
Council Leader Marie Burns opened the event and said: “Thank you to pupils from across North Ayrshire for attending our 31st Joint Cabinet meeting. It is encouraging to see so many enthusiastic young people on board, ready to have their say and champion the issues affecting them.
“Joint Cabinet is just one of many youth participation events underway this year including the recent Cyber Explorers launch event, Joint Youth Forum, P7 Youth Conference and important meetings happening in local youth forums and pupil Parliaments.
“The feedback gained will ensure that young people’s views and perspectives are taken into account when the council makes decisions affecting them, their schools and local area.”
In a conversation café format, the discussions centred around key themes that had been decided upon by young people prior to the event, including:
- Equalities in Health, where pupils identified their top three health priorities
- Community Wealth Building, where attendees shared their views on how to try to create a sustainable and inclusive local economy
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the legislation surrounding protecting and upholding young people’s rights
- Positive Relationships, and how to maintain them with friends, schools, and beyond
- Cyber Resilience, including the pathways to a digital career, how to tackle online challenges and become more cyber-aware.
Quote: The latest event marks our 31st Joint Cabinet meeting. As a local authority we are proud to be one of only two councils in Scotland that are undertaking this impactful approach to youth participation and ensuring children and young people remain at the core of our decision-making process. I am astounded by the number of young people who came to participate in the latest Joint Cabinet. Once again, we have used the event as a platform to raise awareness of the importance of working in partnership with young people.
Quote from: Councillor Shaun Macaulay, Depute Leader and Cabinet Member for Education and Young People
Councillor Macaulay added: “By giving them a voice and raising awareness of important topics including today’s identified themes and the current Scottish Youth Parliament manifesto, we have been able to understand young people’s unique perspective and most importantly determine their key priorities and the council’s actions required to build a fairer and more equal North Ayrshire for all.”
During the round-table discussions, the format included a combination of listening to the experience of attendees directly and encouraging pupils to scan a QR code and contribute online via the council’s youth participation digital platform.
If you are a young person who couldn’t attend but would like to also have your voice heard, you can do so by emailing: youthwork@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Published: 07 April 2025