The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “M) informs the Committee of work to deliver the Bradford Youth Voice Strategy.  The Strategy is led by the Council’s Commissioner for Youth Provisions, coordinated through the Youth offer working Group and delivered by a range of statutory and non statuary organisations across the district. The report provides examples that contribute to the delivery of the strategy, demonstrating the diversity of the work undertaken by a wide number of organisations within the partnership.  The strategy includes youth voice work within communities; for specific groups of young people (e.g. the work with transgender young people); work to influence strategy and policy, and the district wider Youth Survey and Takeover Day. 

Recommended -

(1)     That the work undertaken by the Youth Sector in terms of Youth Voice is welcomed.

(2) That the Committee commits to formalising Youth Voice arrangements in respect of Overview and Scrutiny work going forward, recognising the need for the districts diverse range of young people to be properly represented.

(3)     That the Committee provides critical challenge and commitment to hearing youth voice in terms of other reports presented to this committee.

(4)     That the Committee receives a further update in respect of the work in 12 months time.

(Heather Wilson - 01274 431781)

The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “M”) informed the Committee of work to deliver the Bradford Youth Voice Strategy.  The Strategy was led by the Council’s Commissioner for Youth Provisions, coordinated through the Youth offer working Group and delivered by a range of statutory and non statuary organisations across the district. The report provided examples that contributed to the delivery of the strategy, demonstrating the diversity of the work undertaken by a wide number of organisations within the partnership.  The strategy included youth voice work within communities; for specific groups of young people (e.g. the work with transgender young people); work to influence strategy and policy, and the district wider Youth Survey and Takeover Day. 

A number of young people attended the meeting and spoke about their positive experiences with the National Citizenship Service, the Iwill programme the Takeover Day and other Youth Voice events.

In response to a member question about the Early Help proposals the Strategic Director advised members that early engagement had been undertaken through an on line questionnaire the result of which had been reported to the Executive.  She added that the consultation in the second phase would be lead by the Youth Service in groups across the district.  The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder emphasised that that the first phase had been engagement and that the formal consultation had started on 15 November and would last for 90 days.

The Strategic Director added that a number of consultation events were to be held and that the feedback would be reported to the Executive. 

The young people in attendance spoke of their experience of shadowing people in paid employment and in the voluntary sector during the Takeover Day.

A question was raised about sustainability and funding arrangements going forward.  It was noted that the framework was empowering for young people to follow an interest and deal with what was important to them in their neighbourhood.  It was stressed that the Youth Parliament had been a national model and this local model was more responsive to the needs and aspirations of individuals.

Young people responded to a member question about how to encourage people to attend youth centres.  They referred to the unwelcoming outward appearance of the buildings, the negative activity taking place outside the buildings, that they were not publicised in schools but individuals had to go out and find them and the social stigma and peer pressure associated with attending a youth club.  It was suggested that children should be encouraged to attend at a younger age and that teachers could help to encourage attendance at youth clubs.  However a youth worker in attendance stressed that individuals could still be involved in activities while not attending a youth centre.

Reference was made to the areas where there had been a decrease in the scores received to the NCS surveys.  It was acknowledged that the reasons why those parts of the programme were less effective would be investigated and the results would be reported to the Youth Board.

A member referred to the fact that the cost of travel to Culture Fusion was prohibitive for a number of young people and asked how well it was being used.  It was noted that Culture Fusion was run by the YMCA and that a number of organisations operated out of it but that the Youth Service no longer ran information services from it because of the level of footfall.

The young people in attendance were asked for their views on how young people could engage with the work of the Committee and a number of suggestions were made.  Reference was made to the difficulty in engaging with those young people who were hard to reach.  The young people were asked to report to the 14 February meeting with their proposals.  One member suggested that there should be as much  emphasis on organisations to change their practice in order to hear young people as on young people to come forward to formal meetings such as this.

Resolved -

(1)     That the work undertaken by the Youth Sector in terms of Youth Voice be welcomed.

(2)     That young people be invited to report to the meeting on 14 February 2018 on ways they feel that the Committee can involve Youth Voice in the Committee reports and meetings.

(3)     That the Committee receive a further update in respect of the work of Youth Voice in 12 months time.

ACTION: Strategic Director of Children’s Services