2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 20 March 2018.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 2:55, 20 March 2018

Leader of the house, irrespective of the exchanges in First Minister's questions around the consultation that the Government is going to undertake for seven and 11-year-old children around their thoughts on Brexit, I'd be very grateful to understand how, if we have a statement from the Minister who's responsible, the Welsh Government are going to undertake this survey and interaction with young people. I appreciate this is the issue of the day for many people, but it's also a very political issue. I might be mistaken, but I don't think that this type of exercise on such a political issue has been undertaken by the Welsh Government before amongst such a cohort of children in our schools.

It is important that young people's voices are heard, but it is also important to understand how the Welsh Government will initiate the consultation and will work with schools to make sure there is no—and I'm not suggesting for a minute that this might be the case—creep of politicisation over the process. Without any statement coming forward from the Minister—and I can hear grumbling from the benches, but it's a legitimate point to make, because if this consultation is going to be undertaken, as the Government have indicated, other than the press comment, there has been no statement or indication from the Minister on exactly the length of time the consultation would take, the type of interaction with young people that might be undertaken, or what sort of forums will be engaged with, and I think that's a pretty relevant piece of information that Members should have access to, should parents raise concerns over this consultation, or indeed want to interact with the consultation. So, I'd be grateful if we could have a statement from the relevant Minister to indicate exactly how this consultation will be undertaken, and in particular what safeguards will be put in place.