Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the register of interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interest which they might have in respect of the business on the agenda. No additional interests were declared.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on 24 November 2014.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

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The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

It was reported that there had been eight registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme, and that three Members of Council had also requested to speak in relation to the Called-In item.

Lara Foster spoke in support of Castlegate as a user of the services provided. She asked the Cabinet to work with staff, partners and service users to continue to provide this important service for young people in the city

Hayley Robson spoke on behalf of the York Carers Centre, as a Young Adult Carer Worker working with young people aged 16-25 to support them in their unpaid caring roles. She stated that the Castlegate services were fundamental to young carers who found them of particular assistance and very accessible, and said that any changes would impact heavily on them.

Pip Nix expressed her full support for Castlegate and she shared her experiences of the services provided, pointing out their positive impact for vulnerable young people.

Hannah Jobling, a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of York, spoke to reiterate the points she made at the previous Calling-In meeting. She believed that Castlegate provided a strong partnership and played a vital role in early intervention for young people in the city. She asked Members to reconsider the proposals in order to provide an holistic approach in an informal setting.

Sarah Douglas spoke on behalf of the counselling service at York College and as manager of the intensive personal advisers, previously known as Connexions workers who worked with under eighteens. She referred to the increase in mental health problems suffered by young people, highlighting the fact that they found it extremely difficult to access services due to fear of stigma and confusion. She referred to her view of the unsuitability of West Offices and to the need for guidance and support not only for under 18’s but for the 19-25 age group and for investment to save money in the future.

Ewan Main read a statement from the parents of a young person who had had received help from the Castlegate services, highlighting that the help received at Castlegate had been more effective than anything he had received elsewhere. He expressed his thanks for the immense support provided by the service.

Dr Alan Dunnett spoke as the former head of counselling studies at York University and on behalf of the city-wide third sector providers of counselling services. He considered West Offices to be unsuitable to provide anonymity for vulnerable service users. He said that young people would not want to attend multiple appointments but needed access to all services at one venue at a critical time in their lives.

Lynne Lacock spoke on behalf of the Counselling teaching team at York St John’s University referring to her long association working with young people and those training to work with young people. She expressed concern at the loss of this holistic service which provided a life line for many students. She referred to the decline  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

To reconsider the decisions taken by  the Cabinet on  9 October 2014 regarding the above item, following a request to do so by the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In)  at their meeting on 31 October 2014.              

Members received a report which asked them to re-consider the decisions made by Cabinet, at their meeting held on 9 October 2014, in relation to the Children’s Services, Education and Skills Transformation Programme. The decision related to approval of the Business Cases for Early Years, Services to Young People and the School Improvement and Skills Service and in particular the proposals for the services run from Castlegate.

Details of the Cabinet’s decision were attached at Annex A to the report and the original report to the Cabinet meeting, attached at Annex B.

The decision had been referred back to Cabinet by the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee. This followed the calling-in of Cabinet’s decision, firstly by Councillors Brooks, Douglas and Doughty on the following grounds:

·        The current location of Castlegate is far less imposing than for example West Offices and the move would therefore be worse for young and especially disengaged people

·        It is at odds with the Health & Wellbeing Strategy & Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and their emhphasis on the greater need for counselling as a preventative service.

·        It flies in the face of the government parity of esteem for mental health services.

·        There has been inadequate consultation with the most affected groups.

·        The budgetary savings may not materialise if, as a result of the change of location, the currant uptake of the service is not maintained and the number of Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEETS) rises.

Secondly the decision had been called in by Councillors Aspden, D’Agorne and Runciman who were opposed to the decision to close Castlegate and re-locate the remaining services to West Offices for the following reasons:

·        When Castlegate opened 2007, it brought together a number of agencies and different funding streams to offer a comprehensive support service for young people in a user-friendly, accessible and flexible location.

·        Through offering effective support and advice the centre has an outstanding track-record of helping keep young people safe, healthy, off drugs, out of the criminal justice system, in suitable accommodation and in work.

·        This effective early-intervention is crucial in many areas, including mental health where half of all diagnosable conditions start by the age of 14 and 75% by the age of 21. 

·        The closure of Castlegate, cuts in services, and the re-location of remaining services to West Offices jeopardises all this work and abandons the commitment to effective early-intervention.

·        West Offices – a large, public and corporate building – is not a suitable location for the services which will remain.

·        This decision has been taken with little consultation or prior notice and without properly considering alternatives.

·        We would urge Cabinet to withdraw the proposal and, at the very least, delay the closure of Castlegate in order to ensure that other options, such as suitable co-location with another service, can be considered.

The Chair referred to additional information which had been circulated at the meeting in support of the specialist and complementary expertise of the Castlegate staff from:

·        Dorothy Frear, an educationalist and volunteer counsellor

·        Kate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.