Children and young people's voices matter: progress report - March 2021

Agreed Actions

1 We will issue a public consultation on potential alcohol marketing restrictions in 2021; proposals will be aimed at protecting children and young people in Scotland. We will ensure that children and young people's views inform our consultation proposals and that their views on alcohol

2 We will continue to work with COSLA and local authorities to support strategies to reduce the nuisance and disorder often associated with public drinking and to protect our children and young people, including the use of alcohol
byelaws.

3 We want to ensure that all children have access to healthy and nutritious food at school.

4 We will continue to work with partners on strategies to support young people to access nutritious meals, activities and other support outside of the school day and during the school holidays, building on and sharing good practice.

5 We will continue our work to ensure people have access to locally produced and nutritious food, recognising the importance of sustainable household incomes. This includes our commitment to working with Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland to support a targeted approach to improve healthier eating for people with low incomes.

6 Schools should continue to ensure that learning environments promote positive behaviour in pupils and teachers, addressing disruptive behaviour through discussion.

7 We will work with the General Teaching Council for Scotland to ensure that a commitment to trust and respect is embedded in the Professional Standards for teachers.

8 We will work with relevant partners to increase awareness of existing opportunities and make support available for young people and other community groups to carry out their own local projects to reduce the impact of littering and increase community pride in their local area.

9 We will consult young people on how to reduce the use of plastic and where possible consider a full or partial ban for certain products in Scotland.

10 We will listen to all voices on the value of plastic and set out strong policy that puts the environment first and tackles the throwaway culture for single-use plastics.

11 We will work with young carers to ensure that they can access the right help, advice and signposting to support their mental health and wellbeing. This includes supporting opportunities for direct engagement with Young Carer MSYPs in relation to this work.

12 We are committed to listening to children and young people's views and taking account of their views. We will support young people to meet with COSLA to discuss their concerns around the cuts to youth work budgets.

13 We will continue to support the national roll-out of Housing First, building on the learning from the pathfinder programme in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling.