Youth Parliament debate in Commons Chamber

The members of the Youth Parliament, aged 11-18, will debate issues including the cost of university, sex education in schools, raising the school leaving age to 18, job opportunities and the war in Afghanistan.

Following its first sitting in the Chamber last year, MPs voted earlier this year by a majority of 499 to 21 to allow members of the Youth Parliament to continue to debate there once a year until the next general election.

The debate, which will be chaired by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, will begin at 11am and continue until around 3pm with a break for lunch. 

In a change from 2009 when the YP delegates voted to select their one topic for campaigning, the delegates will vote in favour or against each of the issues under debate. The five questions are:

• Should sex and relationships education be compulsory from primary school onwards?
• Should university tuition fees rise?
• Should the school leaving age be raised to 18 immediately in order to lower youth unemployment?
• Should we withdraw all British troops from Afghanistan by 2012?
• Should reduced transport fares for young people be protected from spending cuts?

Further information

• UK Youth Parliament at Westminster
• UK Youth Parliament (external site)