{"primaryDescription":"<h2>Votes at 16 and engaging young voters - MPs examine what young people think about politics and democracy</h2>\r\n<p>On Wednesday morning, the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG)&nbsp;Committee examines votes at 16 and puts questions to election administrators and youth engagement experts as part of the committee&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9680/modernising-elections/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">modernising elections inquiry</a> (full witness list included below).</p>\r\n<p>The committee will explore a range of questions relating to implementing votes at 16 in UK elections, exploring the lessons to be learned from votes at 16 in place for devolved elections in Scotland and Wales for some time.</p>\r\n<p>MPs will also examine questions around access to adequate citizenship education, where people learn about Parliament, government and democratic institutions, and concerns around the impact of socio-economic inequalities on democratic participation.</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/jDt2gCRJo_8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch the session live on YouTube</a></li>\r\n</ul>","secondaryDescription":"<p>In discussions based on the committee&rsquo;s activity pack on politics, democracy and votes at 16, in <a href=\"https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/54687/documents/303832/default/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a summary document of young people's views</a>, they said they would like their schools to do more to equip them with the skills to navigate an increasingly complex online environment.</p>\r\n<p>The committee will examine misinformation, media literacy, and how to tackle political information online. Practical challenges to voting, such as voter identification and registration, will also be explored.</p>","parliamentTvUrl":"https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/b0552ee4-99b4-4b37-9013-a1e20fe6fb37","id":28118,"name":"Formal Evidence Session","startDate":"2026-09-09T09:30:00","endDate":"2026-09-09T11:30:00","cancelledDate":null,"locationId":10,"location":"The Grimond Room, Portcullis House","eventType":{"id":6,"name":"Formal meeting (oral evidence session)","isVisit":false,"description":"Formal meetings may be held in private (for example to consider a draft report) or in public (for example to hear oral evidence), and require a minimum number of members to be present."},"eventSource":"CIS","committees":[{"contact":{"email":"hclgcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":"Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA","contactDisclaimer":"We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone.\r\nPlease be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints."},"id":17,"name":"Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee","parentCommittee":null,"subCommittees":[],"house":"Commons","leadHouse":null,"category":{"id":1,"name":"Select"},"committeeTypes":[{"id":1,"name":"(HC) Public Standing Orders - Departmental","committeeCategory":{"id":1,"name":"Select"}}],"showOnWebsite":true,"websiteLegacyUrl":"https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/housing-communities-and-local-government-committee/","websiteLegacyRedirectEnabled":false,"startDate":"2006-06-27T00:00:00","endDate":null,"dateCommonsAppointed":"2024-10-21T00:00:00","dateLordsAppointed":null,"scrutinisingDepartments":[{"departmentId":117,"name":"Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government"}],"isLeadCommittee":true,"nameHistory":[{"id":17,"committeeId":17,"name":"Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee","startDate":"2006-06-27T00:00:00","endDate":"2021-11-25T10:00:42"},{"id":580,"committeeId":17,"name":"Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee","startDate":"2021-11-25T10:00:42","endDate":"2024-08-05T11:51:19"},{"id":811,"committeeId":17,"name":"Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee","startDate":"2024-08-05T11:51:19","endDate":null}]}],"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9680,"title":"Modernising Elections","type":{"id":1,"name":"Inquiry","isInquiry":true,"description":"Inquiries allow committees to consider oral and written evidence on a particular topic. They usually result in the publication of a report."},"openDate":"2026-03-17T00:00:00","closeDate":null,"latestReport":null,"openSubmissionPeriods":[],"closedSubmissionPeriods":[],"nextOralEvidenceSession":null,"contact":{"email":"hclgcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":null,"contactDisclaimer":null}}],"childEvents":[],"nextActivity":null,"activities":[{"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9680,"title":"Modernising Elections","type":{"id":1,"name":"Inquiry","isInquiry":true,"description":"Inquiries allow committees to consider oral and written evidence on a particular topic. 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They usually result in the publication of a report."},"openDate":"2026-03-17T00:00:00","closeDate":null,"latestReport":null,"openSubmissionPeriods":[],"closedSubmissionPeriods":[],"nextOralEvidenceSession":null,"contact":{"email":"hclgcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":null,"contactDisclaimer":null}}],"oralEvidences":[],"id":38678,"name":"Oral Evidence","startDate":"2026-09-09T10:45:00","endDate":"2026-09-09T11:30:00","eventId":28118,"isPrivate":false,"activityType":"Oral evidence","attendees":[{"displayOrder":2,"organisations":[],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":"University of Sheffield","id":36757,"personId":124326,"name":"Dr Christine Huebner","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null},{"displayOrder":3,"organisations":[{"name":"Association of Citizenship Teaching","role":"Chair of ACT Trustees","idmsId":null,"cisId":113480}],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":null,"id":36811,"personId":124450,"name":"Helen Blachford","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null},{"displayOrder":4,"organisations":[{"name":"National Youth Agency","role":"Chief Executive Officer","idmsId":"https://id.parliament.uk/GK55kUWu","cisId":59204}],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":null,"id":36812,"personId":124451,"name":"Leigh Middleton OBE","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null}]}]}