(Youth Council Representatives) In 2008/09 the Cabinet had requested the Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive an annual presentation from the Youth Council giving an update on the developing Youth Council programme and to present their request for funding for the year ahead.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed four Youth Councillors to the meeting and asked them to introduce themselves to the committee. They were Jenkin Patel, Annie Armitage, Duncan Haslan and Ellis Spicer. Also present alongside the Youth Councillors were officers Mrs G Wallis, Community Development Officer and Ms D Butler, Young Persons Officer.
The Youth Councillors gave 10 examples of the work that they had undertaken during their second year of office:
1. In March they organised the ‘Epping Forest Promoting Democracy Youth Conference’.
2. They carried out an undercover survey of all the youth projects and clubs in the district. They assessed and rated them out of a five star system. They created a ‘tube’ style map that listed all the youth projects in the district. They rounded off the project by organising a presentation evening, giving a trophy to the venue that received the only 5 star rating.
3. An online survey was carried out to find out what type of activities young people liked to do in their spare time. They then visited schools, youth groups and various sports clubs to interview young people, on film and put this together into a DVD called “What do you want”.
4. In recognition of Local Democracy Week they organised a ‘Speed Meeting’ event with adult councillors.
5. They bid for and secured £8,440 from the Youth Opportunity Fund.
6. They had successfully launched their new website this year and published a quarterly newsletter.
7. A member of the Youth Council sat on the Council’s interview panel for the newly appointed ‘Health-works Project Manager’. The Health-works Project was for young people aged 11-19 in Waltham Abbey and seeks a holistic approach to improving the health and wellbeing of young people.
8. They have been active members of the British Youth Council.
9. They took part in various consultations over the past year.
10. And finally, they took part in the Safer Communities Question Time event.
The Youth Council undertook various bits of training over the year including how to make decisions, internet safety, presentation skills, media training, interview skills and equality and diversity awareness.
Subject to the approved funding, they aim to continue consulting with young people and are planning their next project, focusing on personal safety and will continue to give feedback to Councillors and other organisations.
Members of the committee then asked the youth councillors various questions or made comments on their request:
Q: If you did not get the full £12,000 you are asking for, what could be dropped?
A: This money is mainly used for transporting various youth councillors to events and this may have to be cut.
Q: Is this a quarterly or a yearly budget?
A: The £12,000 is for the whole year.
Q: Do you consult with other youth organisations across the country and compare notes?
A: We consult with Harlow Youth Council and the British Youth Council which enables us to get a bigger picture on events.
Q: That was a good presentation you gave. Have you built inflation into your bid for the £12,000?
A: This revenue funding is to keep the Youth Council going. We are very good at securing match funding and have pulled in £9,000 this year to supplement the council. We are considered the best Youth Council in Essex and are getting enquiries from all over Essex and beyond.
Q: £12,000 is good value and you have achieved a lot in a year. How often do you get to get together and discuss issues as a council?
A: It depends; we generally try to have a meeting every week.
Councillor Collins said that it was very pleasing to hear how much the Youth Council had achieved. She was impressed that they had widened their horizons by, for example, embracing webcasting. She realised that it was very time consuming work especially when you put so much effort into it. £12,000 is less (in real terms) than asked for last year and we will do our best to find this money.
Councillor Mrs Wagland endorsed everything that was said and was especially impressed with the mystery shopping exercise. She raised the possibility of introducing a new category at the Civic Awards for youth clubs/projects. She also raised the possibility of the Youth Council lobbying for a Cinema for the district.
Councillor Rolfe commented that the Youth Council had operated on a £12,000 budget for a number of years, so a bid this year for the same amount, especially now that there were more Youth Councillors, was in essence a cut in their budget.
The Chairman thanked the Youth Councillors for their professional presentation and wished them luck in their future endeavours.
RESOLVED:
That a £12,000 DDF for Youth Council provision be recommended to the Cabinet for approval.