Agenda item

(Chairman of Overview & Scrutiny) To consider the attached report (C-053-2015/16).

(1)        That the Youth Council be retained, supported and developed as a vehicle for wider youth engagement;

(2)        That the Youth Council be afforded the opportunity to present a report/update twice a year to all Members of Council through a suitable meeting;

(3)        That the Youth Council be a consultee for stakeholder presentations at Overview and Scrutiny Committees; 

(4)        That the current operational budget for the Youth Council be maintained at £12,000 per annum; and

(5)        That a District Development Fund growth bid in the sum of £8,000 for 2016/17 be agreed, for an enabling fund that the Youth Council could access for projects, subject to the Youth Council seeking formal approval for projects from the Cabinet on each occasion with representatives of the Youth Council attending the Cabinet meeting to present their request and answer any questions from Members.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee introduced a report on a Review of Youth Engagement within the District, following which the final report of the Task & Finish Panel was presented by it’s Chairman.

The Chairman of the Task & Finish Panel reported that, as part of the Council’s budget setting process in 2014/15, the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee had requested that Officers undertook a review of the most effective use of the Council’s budget for Youth Engagement. In response, the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Community Services submitted a proposal to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee to establish a Task & Finish Review Panel to undertake this work. This was agreed and the review was undertaken between April and September 2015.

The Chairman stated that the scope of the Review included the detailed analysis of the work undertaken by the Youth Council, Community Services and Safety Teams, and Essex County Council. Presentations were given on each area of work and supported by feedback and case studies. The Panel was very impressed with the work and commitment of the Epping Forest Youth Council and the level of communication with their peer group, which extended across their school community and the local area in which they lived. The second phase of the work focused on the youth engagement work undertaken by the Council’s Community Services and Safety Teams, and the work of Essex County Council, which had a statutory responsibility for the provision of youth services. The Panel heard that external revenue funding in excess of £750,000 had been generated by the Community Services Team over the past five years to develop specific programmes for target groups. The Panel was also appraised about the Council’s ‘Crucial Crew’ and ‘Reality Roadshow’ initiatives, which provided personal safety and wellbeing advice to children and young people.

The Chairman informed the Cabinet that the final report of the Task & Finish Panel was presented to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 20 October 2015, and the following recommendations to the Cabinet had been agreed:

            (1)        That the Council retains and continues to support and develop the Youth Council   in terms of wider youth engagement;

            (2)        That the Youth Council be afforded the opportunity to present a report/update        twice a year to all Members of Council through a suitable meeting;

            (3)        That the Youth Council acts as a consultee for stakeholder presentations at           Overview and Scrutiny Committees; 

            (4)        That the current operational budget for the Youth Council be maintained at             £12,000 per annum;

            (5)        That Cabinet considers a request for Continuing Services Budget (CSB) Growth   of £8,000 per annum, for an enabling fund that the Youth Council can access for projects           to be agreed by the Neighbourhoods & Communities Select Committee;

            (6)        That the Council pursues the devolvement of the budget and responsibilities for     Youth Provision from Essex County Council to the District Council; and

            (7)        That Cabinet considers a request for Continuing Services Budget (CSB) Growth   of £25,000 per annum, for targeted work by Community Services and Safety and not at   the detriment of the current service.

The Chairman commended the report of the Task & Finish Panel to the Cabinet and the recommendations therein.

Two other Members of the Task & Finish Panel acknowledged that the Panel was proposing small budgetary increases in relation to Youth Engagement, but if agreed then these would deliver huge positive results. The Panel had not been particularly impressed with the presentation from Essex County Council, but was very impressed with the level of support provided by the Council’s own Community Services Team particularly for the issue of bullying.

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Community Services thanked the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for conducting the review, and the Chairman of the Panel for presenting the findings. The Portfolio Holder commented that she had also been impressed with the contributions made by the Youth Council Members. The Portfolio Holder commended Recommendations 1 to 4, and 6, to the Cabinet for approval, but felt that the budgetary pressures being experienced by the Council meant that Recommendations 5 and 7 should not be supported.

The Cabinet recognised that the Youth Council had evolved over the years and was now a strong body, and that the Community Services team had also performed highly, particularly on the issue of bullying. However, the Council was facing difficult financial times and no good justification had been given for increasing the Continuing Services Budget at the current time. There was also the belief that the County Council would not agree to devolve both its youth responsibilities and associated budget to the District Council. One suggestion was that the funding for the Youth Council projects could be made available from the District Development Fund.

The Chairman of the Task & Finish Panel accepted that the Cabinet was unlikely to agree Recommendation 7, but urged that Recommendation 5 (the setting up of an £8,000 enabling fund for the Youth Council to access for projects agreed by the Select Committee) be agreed for the next stage of the budget setting process. It was not felt that Youth Council projects could be planned a year or more in advance. Other members of the Panel felt that to include the funding for projects within the District Development Fund would be cumbersome, and the Select Committee would provide the necessary oversight for the expenditure.

The Leader of Council acknowledged the good work performed by the Youth Council over the past few years, and that £8,000 was a very small amount in the Council’s total budget. However, the Leader felt that this funding should not be included in the Continuing Services Budget, and proposed that a growth bid of £8,000 from the District Development Fund should be made instead. The Finance Portfolio Holder indicated her support for the Leader’s proposal, and the Chairman of the Task & Finish Panel again urged the Cabinet to support the additional funding for Youth Council projects from the District Development Fund, with the Youth Council to present to the Cabinet to gain agreement for the funding of individual projects.

The Leader of Council called for a vote on each proposal put forward by the Task & Finish Panel.

Decision:

(1)        That the Youth Council be retained, supported and developed as a vehicle for wider youth engagement;

(2)        That the Youth Council be afforded the opportunity to present a report/update twice a year to all Members of Council through a suitable meeting;

(3)        That the Youth Council be a consultee for stakeholder presentations at Overview and Scrutiny Committees; 

(4)        That the current operational budget for the Youth Council be maintained at £12,000 per annum; and

(5)        That a District Development Fund growth bid in the sum of £8,000 for 2016/17 be agreed, for an enabling fund that the Youth Council could access for projects, subject to the Youth Council seeking formal approval for projects from the Cabinet on each occasion with representatives of the Youth Council attending the Cabinet meeting to present their request and answer any questions from Members.

Reasons for Decision:

To retain and expand the services currently offered to young people within the District by the Youth Council and Community Services Team.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To agree all of the recommendations put forward by the Task & Finish Panel. However, it was felt that the additional funding for Youth Council projects should be from the District Development Fund, not the Continuing Services Budget, and that the County Council was unlikely to agree to devolve its statutory responsibilities, and budget, for the provision of youth services within the District to the District Council.