The purpose of this meeting is to enable members of the Council and young people to meet and discuss those issues that are important to young people in Wirral today. Details of the agenda for the Youth Parliament event are attached.

The young people and Councillors assembled in the Council Chamber at 6.15pm. The Mayor expressed his thanks to Maureen McDaid, former Principal Manager, Children and Young Peoples Department who had now left the Authority, for all the hard work she had undertaken with the Youth Service. The Mayor then welcomed the young people and thanked Lindsay Davidson, Senior Locality Manager – Youth Support, her team and the officers for organising the event. The Mayor explained the purpose of the evening and gave a brief outline of proceedings.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Davies, welcomed everyone, particularly the young people, to the meeting. He acknowledged the time spent in research and preparation for the debates and wished everyone an enjoyable meeting. Councillor Wendy Clements and Councillor Pat Williams endorsed the Leaders comments and looked forward to hearing the young peoples’ contributions.

The Mayor then invited Upton Hall to present their first proposal.

The following proposal was put by Upton Hall’s proposer, Sophie McCrory-Crowther.

Michael Gove is destroying the educational system of this country.

Upton Hall’s Opposing proposal was put by Olivia Mannix.

The debate was then opened to Councillors and young people for their contributions.

The Upton Hall seconder Mel Howard then closed the debate.

The proposal was put and carried (22:6).

The following proposal was put by Wirral Youth Theatre Creative Development proposer, Nicole Buntain:

Media literacy should be taught in all schools to enable young people to understand and interpret what they see to ensure that negative and sexualised marketing does not affect their self esteem and identity.

Wirral Youth Theatre Creative Development Opposing proposal was put by Beth O’Donnell.

The debate was then opened to Councillors and young people for their contributions.

The Wirral Youth Theatre Creative Development seconder Kieran Howard then closed the debate.

The proposal was put and carried (20:10).

The following proposal was put by South Wirral Young People’s proposer, Warren Ward.

The new Youth Zone proposed to be built in central Birkenhead will cost Wirral Council £2 million of capital funding and a further £400.000 each year to support its running costs. Do you not think that the money would be better spent upgrading existing youth facilities across Wirral?

South Wirral Young People Opposing proposal was put by Charlotte Wealthy.

The debate was then opened to Councillors and young people for their contributions.

The proposal was put and carried (17:9) (5 abstentions).

The following proposal was put by Weatherhead High School’s proposer, Isobel Wilton:

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) should be brought back into schools, funded through cuts to MP’s salaries and expenses.

Wirral Grammar School for Boys Opposing proposal was put by George Anderson.

The debate was then opened to Councillors and young people for their contributions.

The proposal was put and carried (31:3) (1 abstention).

The following second proposal was put by Upton Hall’s proposer, Mel Howard:

I agree with Russell Brand that the current political system is broken and revolution is the only way forward.

Upton Hall’s Opposing proposal was put by Katie Everson.

The debate was then opened to Councillors and young people for their contributions.

The proposal was put and carried (15:11) (4 abstentions).

The debate concluded with speeches from the party groups (Councillors Phil Davies, Wendy Clements and Pat Williams) who paid tribute to the young people and thanked them for the very high standard of the debate.  The young people were also encouraged to complete the evaluations forms after the meeting.

The Mayor closed the meeting by thanking all those present for their participation. He thanked the party groups, Lindsay Davidson, staff of the Youth Service and teachers for enabling this Parliament and the young people for their attendance and contributions to the debate.