Agenda item

(To receive a report which sets out some proposals for working more closely with the Lincolnshire Youth Cabinet.  This will allow Lincolnshire young people to raise issues and share opinions about matters that are of concern to them as well as give feedback on relevant and timely issues under decision by Lincolnshire County Council)

The Committee was advised that Lincolnshire Youth Cabinet was looking to develop some structured channels for the sharing of views with, and seeking support from, decision makers at Lincolnshire County Council, particularly the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee (CYPSC).  The report set out some proposals for working more closely with the Youth Cabinet.  This would allow Lincolnshire Young People to raise issues and share opinions about matters which were of concern to them as well as give feedback on relevant and timely issues under decision by Lincolnshire County Council.

Two members of the Lincolnshire Youth Cabinet were in attendance at the meeting, to ask and answer questions from the Committee.

Members of the Committee were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present and the members of the Youth Cabinet in attendance, in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It had been difficult for the Youth Cabinet to access all schools, and it was suggested that they could present to the head teachers briefing which took place three times a year;

·         It was suggested that the next time Strategic Priorities for 16-18 (25) year olds was on the agenda it would be useful to invite members of the Lincolnshire Youth Cabinet to attend so they could share their views;

·         Parish Councils were always looking for ways to engage better with young people;

·         Members were advised that there were always young people who were willing to get involved, and the Youth Cabinet tried to engage as widely as possible and as often as possible;

·         It was thought that a formal attendance by members of the Youth Cabinet would not be required at every formal meeting;

·         Some issues were more applicable to young people than others;

·         The Youth Cabinet representatives were reminded that they could contact any councillor if there was an issue that they wanted to discuss;

·         Councillors were also welcome to attend meetings of the Youth Cabinet;

·         In terms of 16-18 training, which was an important issue, it was suggested that some councillors could arrange to meet with representatives of the Youth Cabinet to discuss this;

·         It was suggested that one of two councillors volunteered to act as a direct liaison to work with the Youth Cabinet.  Councillor Mrs J Brockway and Mr C V Miller (Parent Governor Representative) volunteered  to do this;

·         There would be a need to identify agenda items as they came through the work programme process that could be of interest to the Youth Cabinet;

·         There was a need to ensure that anything that the Youth Cabinet should be consulted on, did happen;

·         It was suggested that the dates of the forthcoming Youth Cabinet meetings be passed to the Scrutiny Officer to ensure that someone was available to attend;

·         It was also noted that Councillor Mrs H N J Powell volunteered to act as a liaison to the Youth Cabinet as well;

·         Representatives of the Youth Cabinet were advised that all agenda's, papers and draft minutes were available to view online five working days prior to the meeting date.

The Chairman thanked the representatives of the Lincolnshire Youth Cabinet for attending the meeting and stated that the Committee looked forward to working with them in the future.

RESOLVED

That the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee supports the following proposals for working more closely with the Youth Cabinet:

1.    Timely access to open reports (of relevance) due for presentation at CYPSC.  These could be shared once available or a brief report written for the Youth Cabinet by the senior officer due to present at CYPSC;

2.    The sharing of draft minutes with key items highlighted for feedback, allowing opportunity to comment directly with CYPSC.  Equally the Youth Cabinet would welcome comment to items on its agenda;

3.    Access to a formal channel to request consideration of occasional business before scrutiny committees.  This may include other committees e.g. Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee;

4.    Open invitations to attend occasional Youth Cabinet meetings (currently held Saturdays around the county).  CYPSC may also wish to request attendance by the Youth Cabinet at its meetings.  For any extraordinary meetings a small meet was preferred rather than attending larger adult meetings;

5.    Open to the idea of work experience opportunities (shadowing) for Youth Cabinet Members either as part of school based learning or holiday experience.  This could be shared with senior officers and locality teams for a wider experience of Children's Services.