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 Alexander declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in Agenda 5 (Children and Young People’s Champion) as the recently elected Children and Young People’s Champion.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th January 2008.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the Young People’s Working Group held on 17^th January 2008 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 Tuesday 22^nd April at 5pm.

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

Councillor Scott spoke on Agenda Item 5 (Children and Young People’s Champion). He congratulated Councillor Alexander on his election as the new Children and Young People’s Champion and wished him every success in the role. He also thanked Officers for their time in relation to organising the recent elections. He was glad to see that more people had taken part in the process this time around. He believed that there was still work to do regarding alternative methods of voting. He also thanked the Working Group for being supportive of the Children and Young People’s Champion.

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. No decisions are required, but Members’ comments are invited.

Members considered a report that advised them of 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. The following areas were discussed:

1.      Community planning

One of the key aims of the Involvement Strategy is to develop an approach which ensures the involvement of children and young people in local decision making.

2.      Coordination and training

Another key element of the Involvement Strategy is developing inter-agency cooperation, coordination and training.

3.      Children and Young People’s Plan

A Paper is being prepared for YorOK Board recommending that a new Children and Young People’s Plan be developed for publication in April 2009.

4.      Commissioning

A commissioning frame work is being developed for services for children in the City that will build on a strong tradition of partnership working, realise efficiencies and increase the emphasis on delivering services in the context of locally identified need.

5.      Schools Council Conferences

York has developed over the past five years a highly successful model of holding a conference for student councils from York schools.

6.      Hungate

Young people’s involvement in the Hungate project has been raised at the Show Me That I Matter Group and Officer’s are working with the project team to ensure that young people’s views about the move of services are taken into account.

7.      Leaving Care Leaflet

A group of seven young people have been involved in writing a leaflet which tells other young people who are about to leave care about the services that are available to them and their entitlements.

8.      Yorkash

A group of 20 young people have been recruited and they are looking at the process and how they are going to publicise the grants.

9.      It’s Up 2U

This scheme is now running and is working closely with the Police to get the message into schools.

10.Health consultation

Work is being undertaken by a group of students from York University to develop a questionnaire about healthy lifestyles which will be distributed across secondary school.

11.York Youth Charter Mark

The North Yorkshire Chartermark has been updated to take account of other involvement standards (including Hear by Right, Health’s Your Welcome and the new information Advice and Guidance Standards.)

12.The Heard

This is a group of young people who have used mental health services and are now working to influence them.

RESOLVED:       That the developments outlined in the report be noted.

REASON:            To update Members and to inform further involvements work with young people.

This report updates members on the recent election for the role of Children and Young People’s Champion and seeks reflections and feedback on the process.

Members considered a report that updated them on the recent election for the role of Children and Young People’s Champion.

The voting process for the Children and Young People’s Champion had now been completed and in total 2233 votes were cast, which was an increase of over 60 on last time around. An increased number of schools had participated, particularly primary schools. York College had also participated.

Councillor James Alexander was elected as the next Children and Young People’s Champion and he will be formally appointed at the Annual Council meeting on 22^nd May 2008.

Officers reported that the election process had run smoothly. There was a hustings event for the first time with participation from children and young people from across the City. A DVD had been professionally made which resulted in a much higher product being available.

Officer and  Members agreed that improvements still needed to be made in relation to the election process and work needed to be carried out regarding working with those schools that had not participated in the election. Improvements were also needed in relation to the Hustings event. Members requested that in future the date of the Hustings event should not be set until the Candidates had been chosen and their availability known.

Other stumbling blocks included budgets, IT, promotion of use of new technology and alternative voting systems and timing of elections. Members also noted that the roles and remits of working groups in general were currently subject to constitutional review. Members also discussed possible reporting lines for the Children and Young People’s Champion.

RESOLVED:             That the report and recent processes for electing the Children and Young People’s Champion be noted.

REASON:                  To ensure that the electoral processes continue to be relevant.