Agenda and minutes

As this was the first meeting of the new Working Group, the Chair introduced the Officers present who would be supporting the Group’s work – Bernie Flanagan, Children’s Fund Programme Manager and Carole Pugh, Voice & Influence Co-ordinator.  Also in attendance was Sarah Larner, a Young People’s Development Worker funded by Connexions, who was working on a number of associated projects, including one aimed at making volunteering more attractive to young people.

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in the business on the agenda.

The Chair invited Members to declare at this point any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  Cllr Blanchard declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in the business generally, as Chair of Young Enterprise.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Young People’s Advisory Panel, held on 25 April 2006.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the last meeting of the Young People’s Advisory Panel, held on 25 April 2006, be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Group’s remit may do so.  The deadline for registering is 10:00 am on Wednesday, 12 July.

It was reported that nobody had registered to speak at the meeting under the Council’ Public Participation Scheme.

This report summarises the Hear By Right Standards for Children and young  People’s involvement, looks at where City of York Council currently stands against the standards and highlights some recommended action points.

Members considered a report which summarised the Hear By Right standards for children and young people’s involvement, looked at where the Council currently stood against the standards and highlighted some recommended action points.

In 2003, work had begun on developing a corporate policy on young people’s involvement, based on the Hear By Right principles.  The policy had not been completed, but since then much work had been undertaken around the active involvement of children and young people, with increasing emphasis on the importance of such involvement in national policy.

Hear By Right had been developed by the National Youth Agency and the Local Government Association and provided a framework against which involvement work could be mapped.  It set out 7 Standards against which organisations were asked to evaluate their performance.  The standards had been adapted and condensed into a format that could be used to map and plan involvement work across the Council.  These revised standards were attached as Annex 1 to the report.  If approved, they would be used by the YorOK Children’s Trust Involvement Group to undertake a mapping and planning exercise, enabling priorities to be set for the next 12 months.

Members expressed approval of the revised standards, which would be more practical to apply and monitor than the original version.  However, some explanation was needed for the lay reader regarding the statements at the top of each page, which represented the opinions expressed by young people nationally.  Officers agreed to add an introductory page to the revised document and to circulate copies of the full Hear By Right document and information on Voice and Influence work to those Members who requested it.

RESOLVED: That the adoption of the revised Hear By Right standards, as set out in Annex 1 to the report, be supported.

REASON:      In order to take forward voice and influence work with children and young people.

This report looks at the lessons learned from the selection process for the Children and Young People’s Champion this year and sets out actions for consideration in designing and undertaking future selection.

Members considered a report which looked at the lessons learned from the selection process for the Children and Young People’s Champion this year and proposed actions for designing and undertaking future selection.

The report outlined four options for the future selection process:

Option 1 – full election process run in all schools.

Option 2 – election at the primary / secondary school council conferences.

Option 3- hustings at the school council conferences, followed by a simpler voting process in schools.

Option 4 – “I’m a councillor get me out of here”, a scheme run during democracy week which offers a national web-based approach enabling children and young people to interact with councillors, and vote, on-line.  This was quite an expensive process and did not extend the number of children and young people who could be involved.

Option 3 was recommended, on the grounds that it would provide an opportunity for a cross section of children and young people to meet and talk to prospective candidates face to face, in accordance with their preference.  It was recommended that elections take place in line with the council elections, rather than annually, as this would enable the election processes to be linked and would allow the Champion longer to build networks and make changes.

In discussing the three options, Members indicated that Option 1 would be their ideal choice, as the aim was to teach young people about the election process.  It was therefore important that the process be as authentic as possible and that maximum participation be encouraged.  However, it was recognised that this would depend upon the resources available and the willingness and ability of schools to become involved.

RESOLVED: (i)         That election rules be set and agreed before the process is run again and that a clear timetable and rules be established and agreed 3 months in advance of the election date.

REASON:      To ensure the fair and smooth running of the election process.

                        (ii)        That further exploration regarding the process to be adopted be undertaken with young people and schools, and a report on the outcome brought back to the next meeting of the Working Group.

REASON:      So that the Group can be clear about the wishes of young people and the resources that schools are able to offer before making a decision on the process, with a view to ensuring that the chosen option involves the widest possible participation and is run along similar lines to an adult election process.

                        (iii)       That it be agreed that the selection process should be run every 2 years and that the next process should be undertaken in October 2007.

REASON:      In order that young people be given as many opportunities as possible to participate in the election process during their time at school.

This report informs Members of the decision taken by the Executive Member for Children’s Services and Advisory Panel to approve a remit for the Young People’s Working Group, including arrangements for dealing with the Group’s future work plan.

Members considered a report which advised them of the remit for the Young People’s Working Group approved by the Executive Members for Children’s Services, including arrangements for dealing with the Group’s future work plan.

The remit had been considered at a meeting of the Executive Members for Children’s Services and Advisory Panel (EMAP) on 8 June 2006, as part of a report entitled “Voice and Influence”.  The Executive Members had agreed details of the work areas on which the Group should focus its activities, that the Group should have regular Officer support through the Youth Service and that it should meet on a quarterly basis, to allow time for the provision of high quality support.  Details of the agreed proposals were set out in paragraph 3 of the report.  Draft minutes of the EMAP meeting were attached as Annex 1.

Members discussed and agreed items for the Group’s future work plan.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the approved remit for the Young People’s Working Group be noted.

                        (ii)        That it be noted that the Group will receive future reports setting out a work plan with targets based upon that remit.

REASON:      To ensure that the Group can pursue its work within a clear set of parameters.

                        (iii)       That the following items be agreed for inclusion on the work plan: