Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Epping Forest Youth Council on its programme of work for 2018/19. Members of the Youth Council will attend the meeting to outline:

(a)       the achievements of the Youth Council over the last year; and

(b)       the plans of the Youth Council for the coming year.

Youth Councillors Stanimir, Florence, Archie, Eleanor and Zak made a presentation to the Committee on the work untaken by the Youth Council in the past year. This included the celebrations of the Youth Council’s 10^th Anniversary at the Houses of Parliament; the Drugs Project; MiLife; Youth Activities Map; Winners of the National Crimebeat Awards 2018; and their current project We R Safe.

The Youth Councillors advised that to ensure that they were considering relevant priorities, they consulted with their peers and this revealed that the five top issues of concern were; Skills for Work; Mental Health; Bullying; Drug Misuse; and Gangs which they used as a starting point for their project work. They also used social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and had been involved in many consultations with external organisations. Currently they received £4830 from external funding and had chosen to support Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) as their charity.

The Committee congratulated the Youth Council on their presentation, recent drugs report and work that they had been involved in across the District. Members asked a number of questions regarding the presentation.

Councillor A Patel acknowledged that the Youth Council had decided to raise funds for CRY. He advised that in conjunction with the Council, free screenings for 13-34 year olds would be being held in Buckhurst Hill this year.

Councillor H Whitbread asked how the Youth Activities Map could become more interactive. The Youth Councillors advised that the map would be available on the EFDC website, which would be interactive providing photographs of the location and further information on the organisation.

Councillor D Wixley advised that he had attended a few Youth Council meetings in relation to the litter caused by nitrogen oxide canisters and what could be done to prevent or reduce this issue across the District. Furthermore, Loughton Town Council was also considering a venue for the cardiac screenings to take place next year.

Councillor S Neville enquired about the type of fund raising the Youth Council were considering for CRY. The Youth Councillors advised that they were looking to hold events in their schools and were currently working on ideas.

Councillor R Baldwin asked the Youth Councillors what they thought of the GCSE reforms which introduce the 9 – 1 scale and mental health issues surrounding the pressure on young people; and whether there was pressure to attend university or if other outcomes such as apprenticeships were deemed acceptable. The Youth Councillors advised that they felt pressured and stressed at exam times and that this was probably not talked about enough, although the Youth Councillors were looking at ways to help address this issue. Furthermore, there appeared to be an equal split following GCSE’s between young people wanting to attend university and vocational subjects with around 70% attending sixth form choosing university compared to an apprenticeships.

Councillor A Lion asked how the Council could encourage a more positive attitude towards litter. The Youth Councillors advised that greater awareness could help with the litter issues including social media campaigns and an increase of bins in the area.

Councillor M Sartin asked whether the Youth Council had much interaction with other Youth Councils. The Youth Councillors advised that they had met with the Harlow Youth Council and several EFYC members had been elected to the Young Essex Assembly, which represented the whole of Essex.

The Chairman thanked the Youth Council for attending the Committee.