Agenda and minutes

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

At this point in the meeting the Chair invited Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Aspden declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5 (Update on Involvement and Participation work in York) as he is a part time teacher and a member of the National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Councillor Alexander declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5 (Update on Involvement and Participation work in York) as he was a prospective candidate for the Children and Young People’s Champion.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th October 2007.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the Young People’s Working Group held on 9 October 2007 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 Working Group’s remit can do so. Anyone who wishes to register or requires further information is requested to contact the Democracy Officer on the contact details listed at the foot of this agenda. The deadline for registering is 5pm on Wednesday 16^th January 2008.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This reports advises Members about the next tranche of ”Youth Opportunity and Capital Funding” monies that will be available to York, and seeks preliminary views as to the best way to consult young people and others about allocating these funds to projects within the city, as well as any initial strategic steers that Members themselves may wish to offer.

Members considered a report that advised them of the next tranche of ‘Youth Opportunity and Capital Funding’ monies that were available to York, sought their preliminary views as to the best way to consult young people and others about allocating these funds to projects within the city, as well as any initial strategic steers that Members themselves may wish to offer.

Last summer, the Government announced a £679m package of funds to develop services and facilities for young people as part of a 10 year youth programme. It is known that York’s share of these funds for the next three years (2008-11) will be £0.878m. It is not known whether any grant restrictions will be placed on these funds.

Members received a presentation in the form of a DVD that had been compiled by Members of Yorkash. Two Members of Yorkash were present at the meeting and informed Members that 117 applications had been received this year and they had had £145,000 to distribute. The amount of applications received this year had been 50% higher than the previous year.

The representatives from Yorkash felt that they could potentially fund five large applications with the monies available and thought that this could be more beneficial to the community as a whole. They therefore proposed to prioritise the funding of applications between £5,000 and £30,000 for one year. This did not mean that they would not consider applications for smaller amounts which would be available for amounts up to £150 thorough the it’s UP2U scheme.

They also suggested that a question could be added to the application form that asked whether Yorkash funds had been received previously. Other suggestions for improvement were as follows:

·        Online forms

·        More funding for rural projects

·        Target more disadvantaged groups, particularly Black Minority Ethnic (BME) groups & make the application form available in languages other than English.

·        Bid assessment block (i.e. assessing all the applications in a 2 day block when the whole panel is available). This could take the form of a residential weekend and processed could be recorded.

RESOLVED:             That Members note the allocation of £0.878m for young people’s projects in York over the next three years and recommend the comments of the Yorkash representatives regarding their suggested adjustments to the system of allocating the funds for the coming year be implemented.¹

REASON:                  To enable the consultation process to start in a manner that reflects Members’ views.

This reports sets out the main recent and forthcoming initiatives in the work to promote the Participation and Involvement of children and young people in shaping services in the city. Members’ comments are invited.

Members considered a report that set out the main recent and forthcoming initiatives in the work to promote the Participation and Involvement of children and young people in shaping services in the city; these included:

·        Elections for Children and Young People’s Champion

Officers reported that they had received responses from 17 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and the pupil referral unit in relation to the elections for the Children and Young People’s Champion. The Hustings event was due to be held on 8^th February 2008. Members asked whether the current Children and Young People’s Champion would be invited to the event and it was confirmed that he would.

·        Involvement Strategy

This is the strategy that brings together all the Involvement and Participation work within the City. Work has already been developed on a number of issues, in particular:

·        Community planning

·        Schools Council Conferences

·        Coordination and training

·        OFSTED TellUs2 Survey

OFSTED had undertaken a national survey of young people’s views which had been outlined at Annex A to the report.

·        Takeover Day

In November 2007, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner had promoted an event entitled Takeover Day. This celebrated the ways in which children and young people made a positive contribution to their communities. A number of activities had taken place across the City including a number of young people becoming Lord Mayor for the day, a number of young people editing the Evening Press for a day and a number of young people documenting their school day.

RESOLVED:             That Members note the developments outlined in this report.

REASON:                  So that Members are aware of progress in these areas.