Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 27 October 2005 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

““Youth Matters””

Question: What does the Minister think that it says about the Government's commitment to young people's participation in democracy that we invest in giving citizenship education to young people up to the age of 16, but deny them the right to use a vote until they are 18?

Answer: Clearly, there are many views on the issue. I spent some time discussing it with young people during the consultation process, and there is considerable support for a vote at 16, but I do not think that anyone would want to introduce that until we could ensure that young people would use it in significant numbers. As we know, there are tremendous pressures on young people, and that is not top of the list for many 16 and 17-year-olds, although I accept that it is an issue for some. We will have to go down that route when we are sure that that is what the majority of young people would not only want but use.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 438 c436
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Advisory services Leisure Education Public participation Young people Voluntary work
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk