Communities across Wiltshire are being consulted on what youth activities they would like in their local communities as part of a wide-ranging review. Cllr Richard Gamble, Portfolio Holder for Education, Skills and Youth at Wiltshire Council, will present details of the review being undertaken.
Minutes:
Cllr Richard Gamble, Portfolio Holder Education, Skills and Youth Wiltshire Council, gave a presentation on the youth activity review currently taking place.
Cllr Gamble confirmed that the Council were keen to have the involvement of as many people as possible and encouraged all in attendance to feed into the consultation.
The consultation had arisen to ensure the changing needs of young people were fully addressed and followed the submission of a report to Cabinet on 21 January.
This was also in line with Campus proposals which it was noted would provide new opportunities in the way in which services could be provided in the future. The first campus was due to open in Corsham in June 2014.
The budget for 2014/15 had been set at Council on 25 February and included a need for cost savings across the authority, which included £191,000 from Integrated Youth Services.
The authority had a statutory duty to secure access to leisure time activities for young people. The Department of Education changed the guidance approximately 18 months ago that authorities should ‘enable’ services and not just ‘provide’ with an enhanced role for the voluntary sector in the community.
There were approximately 1,053 young people in the Pewsey community area. In 2012/13 over £9,000 had been allocated to young people initiatives, including to ‘Have a Go’ carnival, EPIC (young people’s job club) and Great Bedwyn Youth Club sports project. It was important that the large number of voluntary groups involved in these initiatives were linked in a more effective way to maximise the services offered.
The 4 options being consulted were:
· Retain the current in-house service but reduce the cost
· Outsource the service
· Encourage and support staff to form a Public Service Mutual
· Develop a community led approach
Cabinet at its meeting held on 21 January had expressed an interest in Option 4.
The consultation process started on Friday 31 January and a final report with recommendations for future provision was expected to be presented to Cabinet on 22 April.
Feedback received to date as part of the consultation emphasised two main points:
· The public wanted to have a say on future delivery
· A wide range of activities was wanted
The outcome of the consultation should:
· Provide a better service for young people
· Give greater influence to young people on local provision
· Target resources and funding to those who needed it most
· Protect the vulnerable with safeguarding a top priority
· Deliver youth services in a different way
· Provide value for money and use of resources
· Improve the future environment (the Campus programme would provide this)
· Reflect the revised government guidance
All were encouraged to submit their views via the following websites:
voiceandinfluenceteam@wiltshire.gov.uk
Further information could also be found at:
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/consultations/consultationypactivitiesreview.htm
Following the presentation a representative from the SHAK came forward to present a petition of approximately 300 signatures to save the SHAK. Cllr Richard Gamble confirmed that the petition would be taken into consideration as part the consultation.
Welcoming the petition received the young people in attendance were encouraged to e-mail the Board with suggestions on how the Council could encourage better engagement by the young.
The Chairman thanked Cllr Gamble for the presentation and encouraged all to participate in the consultation.