Debate contribution: Participatory Budgeting
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Givan
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 11 November 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Participatory Budgeting
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4667592
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I am always struck by the fact that, when I visit a school, whether it be a primary school or a post-primary school, the student council will come to meet me and talk about how its members have had to make speeches in order to get votes. I seek to gather advice from them on how I can use that approach myself. Schools are now really good at encouraging young people to get engaged through their student council. The schools that work best are those that do not just pay lip service to it but follow through on a change that the council has recommended. By doing so, the school council is therefore not just a talking shop, and it is not about the school simply being able to say, "We've got a student council". I therefore very much advocate and encourage schools to make sure that they not only have a student council but properly engage with it and implement decisions taken by the young people in order to give real meaning and purpose to having that council.
179 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.47 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.63 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.23 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.13 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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