Agenda item

Cllr Laura Mayes to present an update following the recent youth activity review and to explain how area boards can help provide activities in line with the priorities of the community area.

The meeting is also asked to consider some urgent applications, outlined in the attached report. The Committee is recommended to delegate authority, to the Community Area Manager (in consultation with the Chair), to award monies from the youth fund, once it has been allocated, as follows:

Pewsey Vale School, Breakfast Club - £2000

Great Bedwyn Youth Club, Animation Project - £331

(Admin Note)  Documents relating to the Local Youth Network were made available on the 10^th September 2014.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, presented an update following the recent youth activity review and explained how area boards can help provide activities in line with the priorities of the community area. The area board considered the guidance and the Terms of Reference for Local Youth Networks, circulated on the 10September.

Along with other services of the Council, the Children’s Service was required to make financial savings. This budgetary pressure had provided an opportunity to redesign and diversify services, reaching more children. Safeguarding, looking after the most vulnerable, remained a priority for the new model.

It was clear from the consultation that children want more involvement in what is delivered for them. A top down model, with static youth centres, does not deliver all that is required. In rural areas and cities the services are very different, so a one-size-fits-all service would not be fit for the future. It was also clear that there are a wide range of activities provided by the community, particularly in an area such as Pewsey.

The Council decided, in May, to adopt a Community Led option and, with the community work together to design services. There will still be a Community Youth Officer to go out into the Community with area boards getting devolved funding. Each area board would create a Local Youth Network to advise them on the priorities for spending their devolved budget. Some youth support will still be provided as 1-2-1 work with very vulnerable young people, and this would continue to be funded centrally.

In response to a question, Councillor Mayes stated that it was hoped that the new model would enable activities to be delivered to a larger number of children. If the Community wanted to prioritise activities for particular groups of isolated children, or to address the issue of transport, then it would for the LYN to recommend that services be commissioned to address these issues.

It was intended to have some facilities in the Campus for young people, but that there would be gap between these facilities being available and the closure of current facility. It was confirmed that Campus facilities would be funded from Property Service not using the Pewsey Area Board youth funding.

In response to a question, Councillor Mayes stated that £1.3 million had been saved in Youth Services across the Council which was an equivalent to making about 44 people redundant. She did not have the figures to hand as to how much that equated to in the Pewsey area.

The Chair thanked Councillor Mayes for her presentation and for answering questions from the floor.

The meeting was also asked to consider two urgent applications, outlined in the report. As the funding had yet to be released the area board was asked to decide whether they were minded to support the applications and to delegate authority to the officer to award the grants once the monies had been allocated for the area board’s use.

Resolved:

1. To note the guidance;
2. To adopt the Terms of Reference for the Pewsey Area Local Youth Network;
3. To ask officers to take the necessary steps to set up the Pewsey Area Local Youth Network; and
4. To delegate authority to the Community Area Manager (in consultation with the Chair), to award monies from the youth fund, once it has been allocated, as follows:
   1. Pewsey Vale School, Breakfast Club - £2000
   2. Great Bedwyn Youth Club, Animation Project - £331