1. Joint debate with the Welsh Youth Parliament

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 26 June 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:46, 26 June 2019

Llywydd, in what we've heard already, I think the really heartening thing is to see the way in which the agenda set out by Members of the Youth Parliament chimes so well with the preoccupations of the National Assembly itself: the declaration of a climate emergency—the first national Parliament anywhere in the world to take that step; and the importance of mental health and well-being. It's very important indeed for us to hear today from someone representing young people with learning disabilities here in Wales. It's 100 years this year that we celebrate the foundation of learning disability nursing here in Wales. We've always, as a nation, had a particular interest in the well-being of people who have to make their way through life with a mental health condition that others are fortunate enough not to need to encounter.

As far as life skills in the curriculum are concerned, it's a reminder to us of why we are acting to extend to 16 and 17-year-olds in Wales the right to vote in local and National Assembly elections, because participation in democracy is a life skill by itself—it's something that you have to learn; it's something that you have to get used to. And the case for extending voting rights in Wales has been rooted in the belief that young people in our education system will now be properly prepared for those democratic duties, given the life skills that they need in order to be able to do that. We know that giving young people a voice in our democracy will encourage lifelong voting habits and greater participation in our democratic processes.

The involvement of Members of the Youth Parliament here on the floor with us this afternoon is a concrete example of the way in which we want to see our democracy develop into the future, giving everybody a stake in the future that we create here in this Chamber, and we're very grateful to you all for taking the time and the trouble to be with us this afternoon. Diolch yn fawr. [Applause.]