Councillor calls for more young people on committee

At a recent meeting of the council's education and communities committee, Councillor David Wilson spoke out in response to discussions about young people playing an active role on the committee and getting a platform to share their views.

Councillor Wilson welcomed the prospect of young people being involved and said he would choose them in favour of other members.

He said: "I think it would be very helpful to have a young people in the chamber and I certainly would advocate having a young person on committee, it would help us greatly. 

"I fail to see why we need three members of the clergy on it, and I would definitely replace one of them with a young person."

(Image: Newsquest) Reverend David Burt said: "The representation of the clergy can be across all religious bodies, so would could have someone from the Muslim community on the committee. 

"A young person should not be there just as a token and they should have voting rights. 

"I think a way of having their say on the committee would be really useful and a very important way forward."

Ruth Binks, the council's corporate director of education, communities, and organisational development, said the council will work with Young Scot to co-design a plan with Inverclyde young people which will help them get involved. 

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Councillor Robert Moran said he welcomed the idea of the participation of young people and highlighted past activities which informed the council's work. 

He said: "Back in day the young people had their own committee. 

"There were schoolkids from the whole of Inverclyde, and they would take the chair and contribute to the meeting. 

"They would bring different things to the committee and we learned an awful lot from that. 

"They spoke to us directly, and actually conducted the meeting and brought proposals forward. 

"It was amazing the amount of knowledge that we gained through the young people having that meeting. 

"It's maybe something we could consider going forward, certainly in the past it worked. 

"You had kids from the top of Port Glasgow to Gourock and got to see that interaction. 

"It gave them an opportunity to get together to discuss issues that affected their communities."

Councillor David WilsonThe committee discussed the potential for Inverclyde's Members of the Scottish Young Parliament to get involved, and points were raised around the definition of a young person.

Ms Binks said the team had already spoken to young people in different communities all over Inverclyde about the prospect of being involved in the committee, and feedback had all been very positive. 

She added that the council's existing Clyde Conversations initiative gives young people the chance to raise issues that matter to them, and said the possibility of a young person's committee would be considered. 

Ms Binks said: "We've already spoken to head boys and head girls and have regular catch ups. 

"There's a lot for us to consider and they've challenged us with a lot of questions. 

"We want to take time and get it right."

The issue will be discussed further at the next committee meeting.