The report of the Strategic Director, Place, (Document “A””) provides an update on changes to the Youth Service made in response to budget savings and staff re-structure and provides details of the budget for the Youth Service in 2017/18.

Recommended –

That the changes made to the Youth Service, as detailed in Document “A” and the budget for the service for 2017/18 be noted.

(Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Jonathan Hayes – 01535 618008)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place, (Document “A””) provided an update on changes to the Youth Service made in response to budget savings and staff re-structure and provided details of the budget for the Youth Service in 2017/18.

It was explained that a further report would be presented in September 2017 to present specific details of the Youth Service activities and future plans in the Keighley Constituency and that Document “A” was a generic report on the service as a whole.

The report reminded Members that following Bradford Council’s budget decisions approved on 25 February 2016 the Youth Service had made savings of £750,000 over the two years 2016-18. In order to ensure that those savings could be realised, the Youth Service had undertaken a number of budget saving measures which had included discontinuing the support offered to Tier 1 NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training) young people which was transferred back to Children’s Services (£200,000) and included in their new commission for the whole of the NEET service.  The measures had also involved the closure of the two Information Shops for Young People in the District (at Culture Fusion and Keighley Town Hall). Two Information officers were transferred to Customer Services and were now based at Britannia House and Keighley Town Hall and a Young People’s Information and Advice ‘App’ had been developed.  Youth Workers in the Area teams would be given training on the use of the App and they would continue to support young people in being able to access appropriate Information, Advice and Guidance in the most relevant and helpful way for each young person.

The arrangements made, following consultation with Trade Unions, to avoid compulsory staff redundancies were outlined.  Members were advised that as part of a wider health service initiative called Youth In Mind, the Bradford District Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) were now commissioning the Youth Service (via Creative Support) to deliver ‘Buddy support’ to support young people who have been assessed by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) to have mental health issues.  The Youth Service’s senior workers who were not successful in securing a permanent post had been retained on a 12-month fixed term contract due to the extra funding secured from the Buddy contract.  Details of that contract were provided in the report.

Members were introduced to four young people who were in attendance to advise Members of the impact and assistance their experiences with the Youth Service had provided.  All of those had been involved with work experience with the service including the ‘Buddy support’ and their placements had included:-

·         Presentations they had designed and delivered (Safer on Line) to encourage young people to think about internet safety. 

·         Sports coaching at schools and youth centres.

·         Duke of Edinburgh practice expeditions involving walking and camping.

·         Attendance at conferences and interviewing social workers about their roles.

·         Involvement with Keighley Big Local, a resident led local partnership which had been awarded £1m to develop a ten year project to bring local people together to share ideas to make the area a better place to live.

·         Attendance on WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Planning) courses designed to increases knowledge about mental health recovery.

·         Inclusion in the design of the Buddy Model which provides speedy interventions whilst young people were waiting for CAMs involvement which could involve a 12 week wait.

In response to questions all of the young people present agreed that their involvement in the Youth Service had increased their confidence, allowed them a better understanding of careers they wished to pursue in the future and provided them with skills and experience required to access further training and educational courses.

A Member affirming his commitment to the Youth Service questioned how, following the budget cuts, the service would fund the costs of commissioning services outlined in Document “A”.  In response it was confirmed that the costs would be funded from the £1.9m allocated budget. That Member felt that the information included in Document “A” was ambiguous.  He expressed concern that the costs of commissioning services would result in a reduction of front line services and he was not convinced that the income generated was reflective of the costs of the provision.   He was assured that the commission supported all youth workers; however, with the extent of the budget cuts his concerns were noted.

The report revealed that funding had been received from the central government Controlling Migration Fund to work with people from hard to reach and isolated communities.  In response to questions Members were assured that the Youth Service worked with EU migrant communities and that the majority of the funding was utilised to support young people coming into the area the majority of which were in the Keighley East Ward.

Resolved –

That the changes made to the Youth Service, as detailed in Document “A” and the budget for the service for 2017/18 be noted.

ACTION: Strategic Director Place

(Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee)