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.

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 non prejudicial interest in the business on the agenda generally through his job as a Careers Co-ordinator at York College.

Councillor Scott declared a personal non prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5 (Future Services and Activities for Young People in York)  due to his wife’s employment in the Wider Opportunities Programme.

No other interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2010.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the Young People’s Working Group held on 18 October 2010 be deferred to be signed and approved at the next scheduled meeting, due to the absence of one of the Members who was present at that meeting.

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 5:00 pm on Friday 17 June 2011.

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

This item will consist of a brief discussion led by Paul Murphy regarding current arrangements for the inclusion of Young People in decision making in York.

There are no papers associated with this item.

Members received a verbal presentation on the development of arrangements for the inclusion of Young People in Decision Making in York.

Members were informed about the work of the Neighbourhood Action Teams in the West of the City, about the Show Me That I Matter Panel and about the York Youth Council. They were informed that the City of York Children and Young People’s Plan linked all the groups together.

Members raised questions about how the York Youth Council  linked with the Young People’s Working Group, and about its composition. Members questioned why Youth Council members were not present at the Young People’s Working Group and reaffirmed the view that up to four Youth councillors be invited to become co-opted members of the group. It was noted that all secondary schools in York were invited to take part in the Youth Council, including private schools, but that there remained a number of schools who were not represented. Members expressed their wish to receive a list of those who were involved in the Youth Council.

Officers were asked about the role of the Youth Engagement Officer at a ward level. It was explained that the Youth Engagement Officer was a person who supported overall engagement with Young People on behalf of  each ward. It was suggested that a Youth Engagement Officer be invited to a future meeting of the Young People’s Working Group.

In response to questions from Members about the York Youth Café, Officers informed them of the current situation. It was reported that plans were fairly well advanced on a potential new city centre venue that might house the café. Members were informed that the young people involved in the establishment of plans for the Youth Café had been supported to set up a charitable trust to help finance the project. It was reported that they had been awarded funding from the Joseph Rowntree Trust to aid the venture, and that other donations were in the pipeline. The Council was also supporting the project both directly and indirectly.

Some Members questioned as to why it was felt that a facility for Young People had to be located in the centre of York, and why it could not be located in the outer areas of the city where funding and use of existing buildings could potentially be less of a problem.

Officers replied that the Youth Café project was essentially led by Young People, who had been pressing for some time for a city centre venue.

RESOLVED:   (i)          That the arrangements and developments for including Young People in Decision Making in York be noted.

(ii)              That a list of secondary schools and others involved in the Youth Council be distributed to Members of the Young People’s Working Group.       

(iii)     That a Youth Engagement Officer be invited to attend a future Young People’s Working Group.        

This item will consist of a presentation into the future services and activities that will be available for Young People in the city. It will be supported by a power point presentation.

There are no papers associated with this item.

Discussion took place between Members and Officers on the future services and activities for Young People in York.

The role of voluntary groups and community faith groups in providing services to Young People was noted, and it was acknowledged that the Council should seek to work in greater partnership with these groups. It was also noted that certain areas of the city had different challenges to others, and that provision of services for Young People in York would need to  move towards a targeted rather than a universal approach.

Officers suggested that greater levels of engagement with voluntary groups could be achieved by offering them  the use of Council buildings and vice versa. It was also suggested that a particular aim would be for Young People to be able to access greater support in the evening, and that this could possibly be achieved through co-operation and sharing of services with the voluntary and community sector.

Further to the discussion, certain Members questioned the background to the location of current Youth provision in the city, which meant that some young people attended a centre in a different ward to one where they lived. Officers responded that the pattern of provision reflected historic decisions, but was reasonably well spread across the city.

Members suggested that if the voluntary sector were to take an increased role in the provision of services for Young People in York, it would be beneficial for training to be provided. However, some Members expressed the view that the people who had run the Youth Centres in York had not had the benefit of examining and understanding the current practices of Youth and Social Work, and so this would need to be included in the training.

This item will take the form of a discussion into the role and future remit of the Young People’s Working Group.

There are no papers associated with this item.

Discussion took place amongst Members and Officers relating to the future of the Young People’s Working Group (YPWG).

The Chair circulated an annex on the remit of the Young People’s Working Group, which had been produced by Officers. This was attached to the agenda after the meeting, which was subsequently republished.

The Chair outlined that he felt that YPWG, due to its presence as an advisory rather than statutory group, tended only to offer information about what Young People were doing in the city, rather than as acting as an active conduit for views between Members and Young People. He suggested that the Constitution could possibly be amended to include the recommendation for the Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Young People to present an annual report alongside the Youth Council to Full Council.

Members expressed concerns at to why the Working Group had not recently met with the Youth Council or had attended the York Secondary Schools and Primary Schools Conferences. It was felt that better communication was needed between Members and Young People and that this could be done by attendance at the Schools Conferences, and Youth Council meetings by Members. Alongside this it was suggested that Youth Councillors and Young People should to be canvassed as to whether they wished to attend YPWG. It was noted that attendance at YPWG would only be when the Young People wished to attend.

Some Members felt that it would be detrimental to focus solely on the Youth Council as the only forum for the views of Young People, because of its limited scope in representing Young People of secondary school age. They noted that the views of Young People involved in the Show Me That I Matter Panels and the Junior A Team, for example, should not be forgotten.

Further discussion took place as to whether the Youth Council should be invited to the next meeting of YPWG, and if the Youth Council could discuss a similar item on their future at their next meeting. It was also felt to be beneficial for YPWG to receive a copy of the Youth Council’s remit at their next meeting.

RESOLVED:       That the following recommendations be forwarded to the Cabinet for their consideration;

(i)                That the opinion of the Young People’s Working Group is that its remit to provide a conduit between Young People and Members is at present not being met as well as it should.

(ii)              That the Young People’s Working Group meet the York Youth Council in order to address how to increase their engagement more widely with Young People.

(iii)            That consideration be given to holding additional meetings of the Young People’s Working Group in order for greater consultation between Members, Young People and Officers to take place.

(iv)            That the remit of the York Youth Council be presented to Members at the next meeting of the Young People’s Working Group.

(v)              That following consultation with Young People, further recommendations be presented to Cabinet as to how the Young  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.