Children’s Parliament meets the Scottish Cabinet

The 8th annual cabinet meeting with children and young people
19th November 2024

I enjoy doing this, it makes me feel included.

Member of Children’s Parliament
Members of Children's Parliament use art materials to prepare their props for their annual meeting with Scottish Cabinet Ministers.

Since 2017, Members of Children’s Parliament have met annually with representatives of Scottish Youth Parliament and Scottish Cabinet Ministers. This annual meeting is led by children and young people, sharing their priorities with Ministers who can listen and respond. This process ensures that Scotland’s government has the opportunity to meet the needs of its youngest citizens. 

Working with a diverse range of children from across Scotland, the Members of Children’s Parliament attending this years’ meeting come from Aberdeen, East Lothian, Perth & Kinross, and Dundee. For the 2024 Cabinet Meeting, the children have collated evidence from children all over Scotland and prioritised issues that need urgent action for children in Scotland. The Members of Children’s Parliament are calling for:

Bullying and Mental Health in Schools
Bullying is a big reason for mental health problems in schools. Scottish Government needs to prioritise preventing bullying and supporting children with poor mental health in schools by ensuring dignity and a rights-based approach is at the heart of every school in Scotland.
Climate Crisis Education
Children are worried about climate change. They don’t learn enough about the environment or have enough opportunities to have a meaningful say on their future. Scottish Government needs to find solutions to these worries and put children at the heart of their climate action.
Vaping
Vaping is often seen by children as a ‘healthy’, ‘cool’ alternative to smoking. Scottish Government need to reduce children’s access to vaping and increase their understanding of its impact.

Ahead of the meeting, First Minister John Swinney MSP said:

Scotland is the only country to hold an annual Cabinet meeting with children and young people – which demonstrates our commitment to ensuring their voices are heard, valued and taken seriously at all levels of government. Today, my Cabinet will engage in discussions with representatives from the Children’s Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament, on the issues that are important to their peers from across all of Scotland. These annual meetings are an important and valued way for children and young people have a chance to contribute and have their say on the decisions that affect them.

First Minister John Swinney MSP

To prepare for the cabinet meeting, the Members of Children’s Parliament worked with us to develop their Calls to Action booklet. You can find it here:

Childrens Parliament Cabinet Meeting Booklet (2024)Download

To discover more about Members of Children’s Parliament’s previous meetings with the Scottish Cabinet, visit their pages here.

Date: 2024
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