The Area Board has requested a presentation on the current consultation on options for the future provision of services and activities for young people in Wiltshire and to draw attention to the formal consultation arrangements.
Councillor Richard Gamble, Portfolio Holder for Schools, Skills and Youth
Minutes:
Councillor Richard Gamble, portfolio holder for Schools, Skills and Youth, delivered a presentation on the current consultation options for the future provision of services and activities for young people in Wiltshire.
Why the need for a review
A report was submitted to Cabinet on 21 January, which covered a number of issues. It had been 10 years since the current service was established, it was necessary to respond to the changing needs of young people.
Support needed to be targeted at those that need it most, currently the minority of young people access council provision, whilst many others access voluntary, community or commercial outlets.
Campuses would provide new opportunities across the county, the first campus opens in Corsham in June 2014.
As part of the budget setting on 25 February, it was recognised that some funding currently being spent on Integrated Youth Services would need to be saved. There would be no changes to the Youth Offending Service, Motivate or NEATS.
The Council has a statutory duty to secure access to leisure-time activities for young people. Currently, these services are provided through a range of open access youth development service across the county, with a mix of centre and street-based youth work.
The Department for Education updated the statutory guidance, with there being new focus for councils to enable services, rather than deliver direct provision, and to enhance the role for voluntary and community sector services.
The number of young people –using the current integrated youth services was 3,356. In 2012/13, the Salisbury Area Board was allocated £7,825 for youth initiative projects. This was then added to by the Board and a total of £13,750 was awarded in grants during the year.
Future provision will offer sustainable help, support and resource to target the young people who need it most. Opportunities would be made available for moreyoung people to access activities. The four options out for consultation are:
1. Retain the current in-house service but reduce the cost
4. Develop a community led approach
It is recognised that each community area has its own needs, and existing resources vary. Working with people locally will help to assess the needs for the Salisbury community area.
Young people have already said that that they wish to be more involved in the choices of services available to them. It had also been raised that transport was a fundamental issue in accessing services.
Chris Baker from Spark Radio and Grosvernor House
The views of the young people had been filmed and made into a DVD. In addition a petition had been signed by over 5,000 people.
Youth Wiltshire had spoken to young people across the county, feedback indicated that they were surprised and shocked by the proposals, which they felt had not been properly explained to them.
One 13 year old commented that the questions were sculpted and leading, so that the council got the answers they wanted.
It was felt that volunteers would not be able to offer the same kind of help as the current trained youth workers. Not all young people using the service were vulnerable, they did not want to be excluded from using the service in the future.
Questions and Comments were then taken, these included:
· Pastor Tony Wilson from the Friary, felt that there would be no way for any other community group to operate the youth club facility there, without the assistance of the youth service. Answer: It was difficult to be specific at present about specific services, however the safeguarding element in areas like the Friary would be an important consideration.
· A member of the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) expressed the concern of the group regarding the effect the budget cuts would have on the provision of future services, and the loss of valued members of staff, especially for those young people at the Bridging Project who have special needs. Answer: The input from the YAG had been very useful. It was recognised that young people with special needs, such as those using the Bridging Project found continuity of staff important.
· The Bridging Project is more widely used than just the young people of Salisbury, as its location near the train station allows others to access it easily.
· How would the money be spent? If you take an example like Stagecoach, they have approximately 50 users, with some marketing by the council and reduced fees, this could be opened up to more young people. Answer: The idea of supporting a commercial venture is a good suggestion, which could be considered by the community when deciding on which services they would like to see.
· The presence of trained youth workers is of the upmost importance to deal with the wide spectrum of need. Answer: It is recognised that the staff are a key part to the service.
· Cllr Osment of SCC queried whether the statistics of young people using the current services was accurate? Answer: There was a large amount of work that the youth service carried out which wasn’t recorded on attendance sheets. Not all activities are recorded.
· Caroline Godfrey, Director of Children’s Services informed the Board that Full Council had almost unanimously supported allocating an additional £250,000 to the budget, giving a total of over £1million for open access youth work. The consultation was taking place to establish the best way to use the money.
· It is important that the existing users of the youth centres still want to go and use the services once the changes have been implemented. Volunteers are a good idea, but alongside trained staff.
· We are 2 years away from opening a Salisbury Campus, so until then it would not be helpful for the Wilton Road site to close.
Cllr Tomes moved the following motion:
The Salisbury Area board fully supports the “friends of Wiltshire youth services” in its campaign to keep and protect a viable youth service for Wiltshire and Salisbury in particular
This board recognises the good work that Wiltshire Youth services
have done over the years. An example of
those services would be Grosvenor House. Many Salisbury youngsters
can tell you how Grosvenor House and Bass Connection gave them a
sense of belonging and a direction in life.
Our youth service has given youngsters an opportunity to
participate in personal and social development with activities -
including arts, drama, music, sport, international experience and
voluntary action; to relax, socialise, to form long lasting
friendships, often around music and bands and to do the stuff that
youngsters do, all with the knowledge that dedicated professional
youth workers are on hand who they can also talk through problems
ranging from bullying to addiction. This has served the city of
Salisbury well for both young and old.
Cllr Clewer and Cllr Douglas voted against the motion and requested that their vote be recorded.
Decision
The Salisbury Area Board agreed inline with the motion above, to call upon Wiltshire Council to maintain the current in-house service with a level of spending to ensure a sustainable professional service.
Final proposals would be presented to Cabinet in May 2014.
Views could be submitted to: voiceandinfluenceteam@wiltshire.gov.uk
For further information, follow the link: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/consultationypactivitiesreview.htm