Engagement with 16 and 17-year-olds

Part of 4. Questions to the Senedd Commission – in the Senedd at 4:17 pm on 20 October 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 4:17, 20 October 2021

(Translated)

It is true to say that those levels of registration to vote leading up to the elections in May were diverse, and we need to learn lessons in terms of why that did happen, and how we can improve the promotion of registration for the elections in 2026. As I said in response to an earlier question, there is work to be done by various academic institutions and public organisations, and that work is being done to assess the success and engagement of young people with that election this year. And there will be lessons, then, for us emanating from that assessment, I'm sure, for coming years, particularly on the point that you make about the variation in that level of registration. Then there will be a report on that assessment that will be published in the coming weeks, and so we will be able to see what the analysis is of these areas in that report. We can discuss further, then, how we can improve the situation that we faced in May of this year, remembering, of course, that that election and our engagement with young people had been affected so much by the pandemic and the inability to discuss face to face with young people in their schools and colleges.