Agenda and draft minutes

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

Councillor D’Agorne declared a personal standing interest in the remit of the Working Group as a Youth Counsellor at York College.

Councillor Scott declared a personal interest in the remit of the Working Group as his wife was employed by the Council.

No other interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2011.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the Young People’s Working Group held on 17 October 2011 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. The deadline for registering is Friday 13 January 2012 at 5:00 pm.

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

The purpose of this report is to inform the Group that work is about to start on the next Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) for York, to run from the Autumn of this year until 2016. In particular, plans are being started for a consultation process that ensures that children, young people and parents are informed, consulted and involved as much as is possible in the development of the plan.

Members received a report which informed them of work that had been done and was due to start on the next Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) for York.

Officers informed Members that many successful outcomes had emerged as a result of the implementation of the previous CYPP, such as low levels of teenage pregnancy and youth re-offending rates. However, it was noted that work still needed to be done to improve outcomes for young people with learning disabilities in the city.

In relation to consultation work that would be done with young people, Officers informed Members that the approach used for the local anti bullying survey would be adopted, but that an additional questionnaire with a broader focus would be developed. Additionally, a resource pack would be developed for children and young people’s groups in order for them to put forward their ideas to the Council on what should be included in the new CYPP.

Further suggested methods that could be used in consultation on the CYPP included;

·        An inspection of the final draft of the Plan by the Young Inspectors.

·        Through the completion of online surveys and greater use of social media.

·        Consultation conducted during lessons at school, led by youth workers or young people themselves.

RESOLVED:       That the report be noted by the Young People’s Working Group.

REASON:           To ensure that Young People’s views are taken into account in Council decision making.    

During this item Officers will provide an oral update for members of the Group on current progress towards the long-held ambition to establish a city-centre Youth Café

Members received a verbal update on current progress towards the establishment of a city centre Youth Café.

Officers informed the Working Group that problems had been encountered with the property that the York Youth Trust had identified. It was reported that the developers had not signed a lease with the Youth Trust, but also had not yet signed a lease with any other interested party. However, Officers informed Members in their view the deal on this building was slipping away, and it would be necessary to identify new possible venues if the long-held ambition was going to come to fruition.

During discussion Officers suggested that the Youth Trust could perhaps look to develop something in a temporary location, such as in a vacant property in the city centre on a short term lease. It was noted that various Council departments would be moving from buildings around the city centre into the new Headquarters, and that a possibility could arise of using empty space in these offices.

RESOLVED:       That the verbal update be noted.

REASON:           To ensure that members of the Working Group are informed of current developments in relation to establishing a Youth Café in the city.

Members of the Youth Council will be present to explain their current campaigns, to update members of the Group on progress, and to provoke discussion. We also hope that one or more of the Young Inspectors will also be present, in which case they too will update the Group on their recent inspections.

Members of the York Youth Council gave Members a presentation on the issues that young people in the city had selected to campaign on for 2012. These were as follows;

·        To continue to work with York Young People’s Trust and to open a building in the City Centre for Young People.

·        To improve the delivery of Personal, Social, Health, and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) in schools.

·        To challenge poverty in York.

Discussion on the aim to open a building in the City Centre for Young People took place under Agenda Item 5 (Youth Café).

In relation to the improvement of PHSCE in schools, Members were informed that a toolkit was being developed for PSHCE lessons, as it had been identified that lessons tended to differ in the city’s schools. In particular, young people asked for a greater focus on body issues and sexuality in these lessons.

In relation to their aim to challenge poverty, Youth Council representatives spoke about the areas that they wished to campaign on. In particular, they felt that school uniform costs were important, as different schools had different approaches and some uniforms could often only be bought from a smaller section of retailers which tended to be more expensive. They felt that the systems for issuing free school meals varied across schools, with some offering young people more privacy than others, which might affect whether young people choose to eat them. They also backed the UK Youth Parliament’s national campaign for greater financial education in school.

Members were then informed about the development of the UK Youth Parliament’s campaign for 2012 for better transport for young people, and the Youth Council’s aims to address issues on this in York. The Youth Council focused on issues relating to bus and cycling provision in the city such as;

·        A lack of city wide discount bus fares for young people aged 17-18.

·        Problems that had been encountered with the quality of bus timetable information.

·        Quality of service issues with operators and drivers.

·        A need for more paper maps, and electronic tools to identify cycle routes around York.

·        A need for more safe off road routes along with more continuous well marked current cycle routes.

·        A wish for more urban cycling training in order to improve young people’s confidence in cycling on roads.

·        Promotion in schools to encourage young people to cycle in work and leisure time.

Some Members agreed that the cost of school uniforms was an important issue to campaign on, whilst others felt that the focus on bus and cycle transport in the city, in particular the need for a greater amount of cycle training in schools was particularly practical.

Officers informed Members about the process that had taken place in York schools for the National Youth Parliament elections. It was reported that a shortlist of three candidates had originally been identified, but that unfortunately two candidates had pulled out, and this meant that elections to the Youth Parliament would not take place in York schools this year.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.