Moray Council to let under-18s submit petitions
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
People aged under 18 in Moray will soon be allowed for the first time to submit petitions to the council.
A decision to change the rules has been made after pupils at Buckie High were prevented from submitting a petition in March last year.
The students were campaigning for the council to release free school lunch money earlier in the day so they had the option of getting something to eat during their mid-morning break.
However the petition was ruled invalid because its signatories were not on the electoral register.
Moray Council yesterday decided to change its own rules.
However, that decision won't come into force until next month at the earliest.
The sticking point is whether or not a petition from young people will need to be countersigned by a senior teacher or a group leader.
It was therefore decided that further discussions were needed first.
Sonya Warren (Buckie, SNP) welcomed that the rules would be changed.
She said: "It’s been such a long time in coming. These young people can vote in Scottish elections. It’s important that we hear their opinions."
The issue is now set to come before the council again next month.
