Chamber and committees

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

This PQ was submitted along with another 10 all regarding the SYP.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) have their annual accounts published on the Companies House website. These provide a breakdown of money received from the Scottish Government from 2020 – 24.

SCOTTISH YOUTH PARLIAMENT filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

The 2024-25 annual accounts will be available on the Companies House website in due course, following the end of the financial year. However, as these are currently not available, the Scottish Government currently expects to provide SYP with funding totalling £430,339.68 in 2024-25 (subject to relevant financial controls).

As part of Scottish Government’s grant conditions, all funded organisations are required to monitor and report their progress towards delivery of their funding outcomes to ensure appropriate use of public funds and value for money.

Since the Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund was launched in 2016, the Scottish Government has provided SYP with £1.7 million in core funding. The breakdown of this funding over the last five years is as follows: 2020-21 - £324,188; 2021-22 - £324,188; 2022-23 - £341,250; 2023-24 - £341,250; 2024-25 - £341,250 (included in the total above).

Most recent information suggests SYP is on track to meet the agreed outcomes by the end of 2024-25. The CYPFEI & ALEC fund is administered by the Corra Foundation. Corra has indicated, through their annual formal grant review processes and monitoring, that SYP has demonstrated good progress towards their agreed objectives on an annual basis. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35662 on 2 April 2025 for further information on Corra’s feedback. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

As with all Scottish Government grants, a rigorous process of grant management procedures is in place to ensure accountability of public funds. These procedures ensure the delivery of policy outcomes, continuous improvement, and achieving best value for money. Regular monitoring takes place throughout the lifecycle of the grant.

The Scottish Government finance procedures align with the guidance provided by the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). The SPFM is issued by the Scottish Ministers to provide guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds. It sets out the main principles for dealing with resources in public sector organisations in Scotland.

As part of Scottish Government’s grant conditions, we ask all funded organisations to monitor and report their progress towards delivery of their funding outcomes to ensure appropriate use of public funds and value for money. The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) follows the same procedures as all other grant funded organisations.

SYP are a registered company (SC227548), so their audited accounts are publicly available on Companies House. As a registered charity, SC032662, SYP submits annual return to OSCR, which includes their accounts.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people are at the heart of decisions which affect them. The Scottish Government engage with a variety of stakeholders, one being the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP), to ensure there are numerous mechanisms and channels that support the voices of children and young people being considered in decision making processes. SYP is an important stakeholder as they ensure young people are actively engaged in policy-making.

SYP is also one of nine organisations to be appointed to the Children and Young People Participation Framework Agreement. The Framework Agreement was developed, through a robust procurement process that required organisations to demonstrate their experience and expertise in meaningful engagement with young people including the scope, reach, and impact of their work, to ensure policy teams could engage more effectively and meaningfully with children and young people in their decision making.

SYP receive core funding from the Scottish Government via the Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) which is administered by the independent grant making charity, Corra Foundation. The annual feedback from Corra indicates the work being delivered by SYP to be of a high standard and that they are achieving their outcomes, one of which is: to provide a national platform for young people to discuss the issues that are important to them, and campaign for changes to the nation that they live in. Corra have robust grant management and evaluation measures in place. Funding is provided based on positive evaluations and assessment.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

The purpose of the annual Cabinet Takeover meeting with children and young people, is for decision makers at the highest level of government to listen to the voices of children and young people and hear issues that matter most to them.

The meetings are an opportunity to demonstrate Scottish Government’s commitment to meaningfully engage with children and young people with the aim of improving the development and implementation of policy and legislation to help make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up for children and young people.

Since 2017, the Children’s Parliament (CP) and Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) have been involved in the co-design of an annual meeting of Cabinet Ministers with children and young people.

At each meeting the children and young people bring their Calls to Action which become tangible commitments to be taken forward by the Scottish Government.

This work supports the need for Scottish Ministers to consider the views of Children and Young People to inform plans and, from 2024 under the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, to ensure that they comply with the section 6 compatibility duty and to secure better or further effect of the rights of children.

Progress reports from previous Cabinet Takeover Meetings can be accessed via the links below:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/children-young-peoples-voices-matter-progress-report-march-2023/.

Children and Young People’s Voices Matter: Progress Report - March 2022.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-cabinet-meeting-with-children-and-young-people-fifth-meeting-16-march-2021/.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) has been clear that allegations of harassment or inappropriate behaviour are taken very seriously, investigated and action taken in line with their policies. Their safeguarding policies can be found here: https://syp.org.uk/safeguarding/

I refer the member to the SYP Board statement from 2022 which followed media reports on historical allegations. The statement provides details of action taken to strengthen safeguarding policies to ensure they are in line with legislation and also meet national standards: https://syp.org.uk/statement-from-syp-board/ . The Scottish Government has not been made aware of any new allegations or complaints.

The organisation continues to review their safeguarding polices annually to ensure they are as comprehensive as possible.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

This PQ was submitted along with another 10 all regarding the SYP.

Ministerial time spent on individual matters such as the number of hours spent on matters relating to the Scottish Youth Parliament, is not recorded.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

The Scottish Government is not involved in increasing the number of young people engaged with the Scottish Youth Parliament. That is a matter for the organisation.

The collection and administration of Council Tax is the responsibility of individual local authorities. Relative to other taxes, Council Tax collection rates remain consistently high, with 96% of charges collected successfully each year. Scottish Ministers are working with COSLA to promote best practice in debt collection and financial advice.

The Scottish Government will invest at least £15.8 million this year in welfare, debt and income maximisation advice services. This includes £2.2 million to expand a Citizens Advice Scotland Council Tax debt advice project which will provide tailored assistance to affected households while working with local authorities to encourage good practice in debt collection.

Additionally, the Joint Working Group on Council Tax Reform has identified ways to better equip councils with the information needed to improve collection practices. Strengthened data sharing on debt recovery will not only enhance collection efforts but also help identify individuals who may benefit from the Council Tax Reduction scheme.

The Scottish Government’s Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme protects the most financially vulnerable by ensuring that nobody in Scotland should have to meet a Council Tax liability they cannot be expected to afford. The Council Tax Reduction (CTR) Scheme reduces a household’s liability based on an assessment of their income, capital, and other circumstances. Over 460,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £850 a year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35803 on 2 April 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.