Agenda item

To consider the motion together with the officer response.

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Glenis Ansell and Gordon King. Accordingly, Councillor Glenis Ansell moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Councillor Gordon King:

“This council regrets that the decision to abolish the Community Youth Officer post was made outside the normal decision making process thereby denying elected representatives their usual opportunity of scrutinising an executive decision”.

In moving her motion, Councillor Glenis Ansell explained that she did not consider that due process had been followed, and that it should have been debated by Councillors or engaged Scrutiny. She expressed concern that the decision to reduce the number of Community Youth Officer (CYO) posts would impact on the ability of the youth service to meet the needs of those that needed help the most. She considered that the application of the new model was different from that which was promised. She referred to the separate petitions lodged with the Council which in themselves should have triggered the decision being taken with full due process. She considered that the number of young people per CYO was at unmanageable ratios to be able to offer the assistance and support required.

The Chairman invited Councillor Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, to respond to the motion. Councillor Mayes explained that the decision had been taken correctly as an operational decision at officer level having regard to the financial pressures on the Council as part of the day to day management of the Council.  Councillor Mayes confirmed that the new model service was reaching far more young people than it would have been possible with the old service.  She confirmed that the Council was preserving support for the most vulnerable and in early help work.

The Chairman then proposed, subsequently seconded by Councillor Bucknell that the motion be debated and on being put to the vote, it was;

Resolved:

That the motion be debated.

The Chairman invited Group Leaders to comment before opening the matter up for wider debate.

Councillor Ricky Rogers expressed sympathy for the motion. Whilst he understood the financial pressures facing the service, he expressed concern that the reduction in officers would render the new model for youth services inoperable and would not allow capacity to work with voluntary groups.

Councillor Simon Killane stated that he had written to the Cabinet Member with his concerns and accepted that it was a service decision but that it was one that could impact on the deliverability of the policy.

Councillor Jon Hubbard expressed surprise that the decision, given its impact, had not been subject to consultation with Councillors and affected parties such as service users, staff, Area Boards and found it abhorrent that they had not been consulted. He considered that the change was badly timed given that the Children’s Select Committee task group had not yet completed the review of the new model.

Councillor Chris Devine considered that the service model appeared to be working well in his division. The Council had to accept that it needed to make savings and to seek solutions from the wider community.

Councillor Gordon King emphasised the importance of mental health issues amongst young people, and expressed concern that new model had not had a chance to be fully implemented before further cuts were implemented.

Councillor Magnus MacDonald expressed concern that the reductions in new staff would make it harder to reach the most vulnerable children.

Councillor Jamie Capp considered that the officer decision to reduce the number of staff clearly had a material impact on the efficacy of the policy, leading him to conclude that it was, in effect, a policy decision that should have been taken by Councillors.

Councillor Richard Gamble stated that there were still a good number of officers targeting support to the most vulnerable, and that the community led model was reaching a large number of groups undertaking a range of activities.

Councillor Richard Clewer stated that services to the most vulnerable were being maintained.

Councillor Chris Caswill stated that the role of the CYO had significantly changed and Councillors should have had an opportunity to debate this.

Councillor Peter Edge stated that whilst he agreed that not all community areas required their own officer, he believed that the decision should have been discussed by Councillors first.

Councillor Laura Mayes stated that in any event it would not have been possible to consult more widely due to the timescales involved. She emphasised that support for the most vulnerable had been maintained.

Councillor Glenis Ansell, in summing up, stated that the reductions in the service would lead to more children falling between the cracks of service provision.

On being put to the vote, the motion was LOST and it was therefore;

Resolved:

That motion no. 32 be not adopted.

At the request of the requisite number of members, the above decision was the subject of a recorded vote, recorded as follows:

For the motion (27)

Cllr Desna Allen, Cllr Glenis Ansell, Cllr Pat Aves, Cllr Nick Blakemore, Cllr Jamie Capp, Cllr Trevor Carbin, Cllr Chris Caswill, Cllr Ernie Clark, Cllr Brian Dalton, Cllr Dennis Drewett, Cllr Peter Edge, Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cllr Chris Hurst, Cllr David Jenkins, Cllr Bob Jones MBE, Cllr Simon Killane, Cllr Gordon King, Cllr Magnus Macdonald, Cllr Howard Marshal, Cllr Ian Mclennan, Cllr Stephen Oldrieve, Cllr Linda Packard, Cllr Mark Packard, Cllr David Pollitt, Cllr Ricky Rogers, Cllr Bridget Wayman and Cllr Ian West.

Against the motion (50)

Cllr Chuck Berry, Cllr Richard Britton, Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Mark Connolly, Cllr Christine Crisp, Cllr Anna Cuthbert, Cllr Andrew Davis, Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cllr Tony Deane, Cllr Christopher Devine, Cllr Stewart Dobson, Cllr Mary Douglas, Cllr Peter Evans, Cllr Sue Evans, Cllr Richard Gamble, Cllr Jose Green, Cllr Mollie Groom, Cllr Mike Hewitt, Cllr Alan Hill, Cllr Charles Howard, Cllr Keith Humphries, Cllr Peter Hutton, Cllr Simon Jacobs, Cllr Julian Johnson, Cllr John Knight, Cllr Jerry Kunkler, Cllr Jacqui Lay, Cllr Alan MacRae, Cllr Laura Mayes, Cllr Jemima Milton, Cllr Bill Moss, Cllr Paul Oatway QPM, Cllr Sheila Parker, Cllr Graham Payne, Cllr Horace Prickett, Cllr Leo Randall, Cllr Jonathon Seed, Cllr James Sheppard, Cllr John Smale, Cllr Toby Sturgis, Cllr Melody Thompson, Cllr John Thomson, Cllr Richard Tonge, Cllr Tony Trotman, Cllr Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Roy While, Cllr Philip Whitehead and Cllr Christopher Williams.

Abstentions (1)

Cllr Jerry Wickham