Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Obviously, I think there is a great deal of consensus in the Chamber around the extension of the franchise and I appreciate that and we've tested the view of the Assembly before. But I do find it quite bizarre that we're not having a wider discussion about those ages of responsibility. I appreciate the Llywydd made some reference in her contribution to the debate on this issue about the varying ages of responsibility for all sorts of different things, and I do think that that's something we need to return to as an Assembly at some point in the future when we consider children and young people and where those boundaries might lie.

I listened carefully to the remarks of the Counsel General in relation to David Melding's amendment. I think David made a very powerful case about the need for high-quality citizenship education in order to promote participation in our democracy, and I recognise that people have accepted that argument. What I don't understand is that if you accept that argument, why are you then resistant to allowing and enabling some statutory requirements for guidance to be issued to our secondary schools in order to deliver on your stated policy objective and aim? So, I would urge Members to support David Melding's amendments. I would certainly urge Members to think again about this issue of extending the franchise when people quite clearly, from the Youth Parliament's own research, feel ill-equipped and unprepared for the duty that they might hold at age 16 and 17 in having the opportunity to vote.

And I will say this: in spite of my opposition to extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, I have led for the Conservatives on this issue of extending opportunities for young people to engage in citizenship and engage in the workings of this Parliament over the years. I can remember leading the debate that made the calls for the establishment of a youth Parliament, and I was delighted that the Llywydd picked up on that and that all parties in this Chamber got behind that particular proposal. So, it's not that I'm against the participation of young people in the life of this institution, in helping to shape our views, it's just that I don't think that it's always the best case to simply extend the franchise in order to give them that opportunity. Young people can engage in many different ways. If you look at Greta Thunberg, not even a citizen of this country, who could argue, in this Chamber, that she's not had the opportunity to influence even our politics here in this Chamber in the declaration of a climate emergency, for example? So, there are ways to engage without having to extend the franchise and I would urge people to support my amendments.