Agenda item

RESOLVED:

·       That the report be noted.

Witnesses

Pinaki Ghoshal, Executive Director for Children and Young People

Val Davison, Chair – Youth First
Mervyn Kaye, CEO – Youth First
Gülen Petty, Assistant CEO – Youth First

Val Davison and Mervyn Kaye introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

3.1.         Non-statutory youth services were in a parlous state nationally, but Youth First (YF) had succeeded by not only surviving but also growing its services since it was ‘stepped out’ in 2016 This was achieved thanks to the hard work and willingness to adapt of staff and the support of the council and other partners.

3.2.         Since its creation, YF had developed new and innovative services, both in collaboration with the council and independently with other partners.

3.3.         It was difficult to obtain funding for youth services. Nevertheless, YF’s funding bids were around twice as successful as the national average.

3.4.         YF had identified focus areas which were aligned with the council’s corporate priorities and would enable more-focused income generation and funding applications.

3.5.         YF was hopeful of securing funding to launch an education and employment scheme later in the year, which would open doors for young people who were often missed by other schemes and support them to develop soft and hard skills.

3.6.         YF’s change from mutual organisation to charity was to ensure it was able to attract non-council funding.

3.7.         Youth voice was hardwired into the organisation, which coproduced its offer with young people. YF had obtained the agreement of the Charity Commission to include staff and young people as beneficiary trustees.

3.8.         YF required stable, long-term funding from the council in order to secure independent funding.

3.9.         The council’s support could also help YF secure independent funding. By working together, the council and YF had secured capital funding for the Riverside adventure playground, for example.

The Committee then put questions to the witnesses. The following key points were noted:

3.10.     A £200k saving against the budget for youth services – of which YF was the largest provider – was included in the council’s agreed 2023/24 budget. However, exactly where that saving would be made had not yet been determined.

3.11.     Capital investment in The Dumps adventure playground had been agreed. Engagement with residents and other stakeholders regarding the use of that funding was planned. There was no capital funding earmarked to improve the Ladywell adventure playground, but the condition of the site would be considered under the Play Strategy.

3.12.     YF needed assurance over a period of time – e.g. use of an adventure playground for a longer period – in order to secure independent funding. For example, high net worth individuals were willing to provide funding for five to ten years.

3.13.     Long-term adventure playground (APG) management was to be subject to a tendering process. However, this had been delayed by the fact the council did not own the land on which one of the borough’s APGs was situated. YF was both a youth work and play provider.

3.14.     YF was established to support the Council and would continue to do so even under a short-term contract extension. However, the lack of clarity regarding the organisation’s future was a barrier to recruitment and retention. 

3.15.     YF was observing a high level of food poverty and helping to feed young people. There was anecdotal evidence that feeding young people increased participation in youth services and improved community safety and young people’s outcomes.

3.16.     There was a waiting list of almost 100 young people for one-to-one mentoring following the first year of its availability, despite only limited promotion of its availability. Approximately half of referrals were received from Family Thrive, and the other half from a range of sources including GPs, mental health services, schools, youth workers and self-referrals. Outcomes Star was used to measure the impact of one-to-one youth work; its application showed that most young people made good progress against their objectives. However, due to a higher than anticipated level of need, young people were receiving support for longer than was expected when the service was commissioned and, consequently, fewer young people were being supported than originally expected. The success of the scheme presented an opportunity to add further schemes aligned with the needs of young people, such as regarding education and employment or emotional wellbeing. YF was pursuing a £400k funding bid to expand one-to-one provision.

3.17.     The Chair summarised that the case had been made for longer-term funding to provide stability for youth services and capital funding was needed to release facilities. He thanked Merve for his work in Lewisham over the past 18 years. Merve encouraged councillors to continue to visit youth services after he left the borough.

RESOLVED:

·       That the report be noted.

ACTION

The Executive Director for Children and Young People to inform the Committee of where the £200k youth services saving is to be made, once decided.