Agenda item

To consider the final report of the Youth Services Provision Task and Finish Group.

(Executive Summary attached – Final report under separate cover)

Councillor Simon Chalk, Chair of the Youth Service Provision Task and Finish Group, presented the final report prepared on behalf of the Group to the Executive Committee.

The Group had set out to examine the provision of activities and services to young people in the Borough in the context of a changing model of provision, with the establishment of a local Commissioning Group which was tasked with commissioning positive activities for young people. The Group recognised that much of the importance of its review lay in its ability to influence the commissioning process.

Councillor Chalk outlined the key findings of the Group, noting that most young people simply wanted a warm, secure place in which to meet their friends, socialise, listen to and create music and the means by which they could participate in sporting activities. The barriers preventing young people from participating in activities were also touched upon with transport, cost, access to information, the location of activities and a lack of self-confidence amongst some young people being identified as key factors.

Members of the Executive Committee congratulated Councillor Chalk and his Group for the report which was considered to have much to commend it.

Promotion and communication was seen as a key area to be addressed. Despite the recognition that the Council’s website was now much improved and that the Council did now make use of Facebook and Twitter, there was still considered to be a significant gap between the Council’s means of communicating and the expectations and reality for young people today. The Committee was receptive to the idea of making greater use of the Frog Intranet system which was available to high school students across the Borough.

The problem of young people accessing activities was discussed at some length. It was acknowledged that public transport provision was not adequate to fulfil the needs of young people to the extent that they or the Council might wish. The means by which the Council could assist were considered and it was proposed that a further report be prepared exploring the feasibility of using the Council’s Dial-a-Ride service to make certain events more accessible for young people. The proposal within the report to make use of the WRVS Community Transport Scheme, which was currently being piloted, was not seen as an appropriate or effective solution on a number of levels, including the fact that the pilot may not continue beyond June.

It was recognised that much good work was already being carried out by the Borough Council, County Council and the Voluntary and Community Sector in providing positive activities for young people. It was hoped that this could be continued and built upon where possible and the expertise of experienced youth workers, both paid and voluntary, be retained.

It was proposed that the Commissioning Group receive a presentation from the Task and Finish Group in order that it might outline the findings of the review and thereby positively influence the commissioning of services.

RESOLVED that

1)         youth activities in Redditch should be promoted using the following communication tools:

            social networking platforms;

2)         Redditch Borough Council should submit bids for positive activities funding in the new commissioning framework in partnership with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations that have experience delivering youth activities and should offer to host these activities at Council owned community centres where appropriate;

3)         Officers be requested to explore the option of Dial a Ride vehicles being used to transport young people to local events and festivities and a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

RECOMMENDED to Worcestershire County Council and the Redditch Commissioning Group that

4)         youth activities in Redditch should be promoted using the following communication tools:

    a)         a new dedicated Redditch youth website;

   b)        Worcestershire Plug and Play website;

   c)         local high schools’ Frog Intranet systems;

5)         there should be a youth work co-ordinator for Redditch financed by funding held by Worcestershire County Council to help maximise the number of youth activities in the town;

(The Redditch Commissioning Group to be advised of this recommendation, rather than this being a recommendation to the Group itself);

6)         the Redditch Commissioning Group should ensure that there is a seamless transition from the old system for delivering youth services to the new commissioning framework to make sure that gaps in service provision to young people in Redditch do not occur;

7)         the Redditch Commissioning Group should seriously consider the following types of bids for funding:

a)         bids for youth work to be delivered using a social enterprise model; and

b)        bids requesting that the funding cover the costs of employing a trained youth worker as part of delivering a positive activity to young people;

8)         when the Redditch Commissioning Group is consulting with young people, the following groups should be consulted as part of this process:

a)     Redditch Student Council; and

b)     a focus group of young offenders and young people at risk of offending;

9)         the Redditch Community Safety Partnership / North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership should be invited to present information to the Redditch Commissioning Group about youth related crime and anti-social behaviour in Redditch as part of the new commissioning framework;

10)      links should be provided directly from the Frog intranet system used by local high schools to bus companies’ websites to provide young people with access to up to date information about bus timetables and routes in Redditch; and

11)      the Youth Services Provision Task Group’s findings and the content of the group’s final report should be considered by the Redditch Commissioning Group prior to commissioning youth activities for the Borough.