SYP79 Sitting Overview

Now that the 3rd SYP sitting of this term is over (SYP79 in Orkney), here's a brief summary of everything that happened.

Members motions are proposals by other MSYPs hoping to add to SYP policy. You can see all of SYP's previous passed motions in the SYP Policy Log. I vote in accordance with my consituent's views which I gather before each sitting. This sitting my constituents agreed with all of the proposed members motions and due to this I voted in favour of all of the motions. All of the motions ended up passing and should be added to the SYP Policy Log soon.

The motions which passed were:

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament calls on the Scottish Government to specifically reference spiking as a criminal offence in legislation and for decision-makers to do more to support those affected.’ – Individual motion by Mollie McGoran MSYP, Inverness and Nairn.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament recognises many girls and women feel unsafe in public spaces and calls on decision-makers and communities to raise awareness and work together to eliminate gender-based violence in public areas.’ – Individual motion by Caitlin Lowry MSYP, Girlguiding Scotland.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament calls on the Scottish Government to ensure guidance teachers in Scotland receive Young Carer training to help identify and support young carers in secondary schools.’ – Joint motion by Max Green MSYP, Carers Trust, and Zaid Sheikh MSYP, Glasgow Pollok.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament calls on Transport Scotland to extend the Scottish Government's concessionary travel discount for young people, facilitated through the Young Scot National Entitlement Card, to include inter-island ferry travel.’ – Joint motion by John Fraser MSYP, Shetland Islands, and Michaela Christie MSYP, Shetland Islands.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament recognises the environmental impacts of single-use disposable vapes and calls upon the Scottish Government to ban these devices; further calls upon the Scottish Government to take interim actions to mitigate these impacts while working towards a ban and to meaningfully engage with young people throughout this process.’ – Joint motion by Emma Prach MSYP, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, and Marcus Flucker MSYP, Angus South.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament recognises the significant impact that naloxone has had in reducing overdose deaths in Scotland; recognises and commends Police Scotland's roll-out of Naloxone training and kit to front-line staff and believes that training on the usage of naloxone should be expanded to anyone who wishes to carry it to help combat the opioid overdose crisis occurring in Scotland.’ – Joint motion by Logan Gilmour MSYP, Cunninghame North, and Ryan Macintyre MSYP, Argyll and Bute.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament believes that all public access buildings that claim to be accessible should have accurate and public accessibility information to promote inclusivity and equal opportunities for people with disabilities.’ – Individual motion by Shafa Waqas MSYP, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament believes that there should be more support for people who suffer from endometriosis, such as; access to pain management, mental health support and menstrual wellbeing education that encompasses this.’ Joint Motion by Emma Prach MSYP, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Madiha Choudhury MSYP, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Olivia Brown MSYP, Midlothian North and Musselburgh, and Sam Webster MSYP, Edinburgh Eastern.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament is concerned that much more work needs to be done to uphold the new sibling rights in the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, and calls on dutybearers to take immediate action to ensure full awareness and application of these rights, and to put robust accountability measures in place.’ – Individual motion by Charles Fernando MSYP, Who Cares? Scotland.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament believes that all religious groups should be able to celebrate holidays that are important to their religion and culture; and calls upon the Scottish Government, schools, and employers to make appropriate adjustments to allow all religious groups to celebrate important religious and cultural holidays without facing backlash or disadvantage.’ – Joint motion by Fatima Bari MSYP, FOSIS, Imaan Hussain MSYP, Dundee East, and Omar Taher MSYP, Renfrewshire North.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament believes that decision-makers should adopt an intersectional feminist approach to town planning, to improve accessibility and safety measures for people that experience gender discrimination.’ Joint motion by Ellie Craig MSYP, Glasgow and Cathcart, and Mollie McGoran MSYP, Inverness and Nairn.

• ‘The Scottish Youth Parliament acknowledges the abuse young people can experience in the retail and hospitality sectors and calls for further action by Police Scotland and employers to ensure young people are confident that they are safe whilst they are at work.’ – Individual motion by Jack Anderson MSYP, Dundee East.

A quickfire motion which was previous SYP policy getting renewed was passed again as well:

"The Scottish Youth Parliament believes that educational institutions and youth organisations should actively encourage young people to become organ and blood donors, through education on the subject and holding blood drives where feasible."

Do you agree with the motions that were passed?

• Yes, I agree with all of them
• I agree with most of them
• I agree with some of them
• No, I don't agree with any of them

There was a committee meeting at SYP79. I am part of the TERA (Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs) committee. We discussed further actions which could be taken to promote the ideas in the Circular Economy Bill and its ideas as well as the problems faced by people in rural communities. We also discussed the possibility of proposing a committee motion for the next sitting.

Thanks to all of the organisers of the sitting for preparing everything so well, to all of the speakers for proposing such important motions, and also to Northlink Ferries for sponsoring our tickets to get there!