Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED

That Councillor Edison Huynh be elected Chair.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Edison Huynh be elected Chair.

RESOLVED

That the following declarations in respect of item 3 be noted:

·         Cllr Huynh declared that he was the Council appointee to the Youth First Board and was a member of the Board of the Lewisham Youth Theatre.

·         Cllr Cunningham declared that she was a council-appointed Trustee of the Marsha Phoenix Memorial Trust and a Trustee of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire. 

RESOLVED

That the following declarations in respect of item 3 be noted:

·         Cllr Huynh declared that he was the Council appointee to the Youth First Board and was a member of the Board of the Lewisham Youth Theatre.

·         Cllr Cunningham declared that she was a council-appointed Trustee of the Marsha Phoenix Memorial Trust and a Trustee of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire. 

RESOLVED

To:

1. agree the intended outcomes of the review proposed at part 6 of the report with the following amendments:

·         in (d), the insertion of the words ‘challenges and’ between the words ‘identify’ and ‘good practice’; and

·         in (e), the insertion of the words ‘and ensure the offer is responsive to young people’s needs’ after the word Lewisham;

2. agree the Key Lines of Enquiry recommended at part 8 of the report;
3. agree the indicative timetable for the completion of the review in Appendix B; and
4. agree its focus to be youth work as defined by the National Youth Agency.

3.1.         The Chair introduced the item. The Scrutiny Manager gave overview of the report.

3.2.         The Cabinet Member noted that the Council had preserved its youth services where others had not, maintaining a universal offer while targeting its limited resources at the young people who needed the most support. The review was timely, as the current main youth services contract was halfway through its lifespan. The Council was also commissioning services beyond its main contract, for example the Lewisham Young Leaders’ Academy, which had now secured third party funding to sustain its operations.

3.3.         The Cabinet Member suggested the review consider potential interactions between youth services and other Council activity, such as the new Integrated Adolescent Safeguarding Service and family hubs.

3.4.         What site visits the Task and Finish Group conducted was a matter for its members, but the Chair and Scrutiny Manager had discussed visits to both Council and non-Council funded services in Lewisham and ones outside the borough.

3.5.         The importance of arranging site visits at accessible times was noted.

3.6.         The challenge of engaging a broad range of young people effectively was noted. It was suggested that any workshops be held in places accessible to young people, such as schools.

3.7.         It was agreed that ‘young residents’ was a general term and would not limit the Group to engaging people aged over 25.

3.8.         The Group would endeavour to understand the socio-economic status of the young people it engaged with and how it impacted their lives and access to services. The Scrutiny Manager was to take advice on how it could do so effectively.

3.9.         The Scrutiny Manager gave an overview of the initial stages of the timeline at Appendix B

3.10.     It was suggested the Group seek to engage youth work providers and practitioners collectively in the interests of efficiency.

RESOLVED

To:

1. agree the intended outcomes of the review proposed at part 6 of the report with the following amendments:

·       in (d), the insertion of the words ‘challenges and’ between the words ‘identify’ and ‘good practice’; and

·       in (e), the insertion of the words ‘and ensure the offer is responsive to young people’s needs’ after the word Lewisham;

2. agree the Key Lines of Enquiry recommended at part 8 of the report;
3. agree the indicative timetable for the completion of the review in Appendix B; and
4. agree its focus to be youth work as defined by the National Youth Agency.