Agenda item

Paul Richards (Head of Green Spaces, Sport and Culture) introduced a report detailing the Council’s provision of services for young people within the Borough.

Members asked a number of questions, including:

The report had appeared to have omitted many unformed groups, such as those groups within the Northwood/Northwood Hills ward. Was this correct?

The groups within the wards could be checked, and Members updated, following the meeting.

One youth centre in Northwood was not available due to building works being undertaken to address a severe case of damp. Surveyors and specialist’s had now been engaged to create an actions plan that would properly address the issues on site.

What was the total budget for youth provision, and how many users aged 8-19 were engaging with the Council?

Universal services mostly comprised the various youth centres, for which the budget was £546k. There had been 32,000 attendances to Universal Youth Services sessions over the last year.

What had been the impact of separating the targeted and universal services for young people? Did the two areas work together at all?

The two services had been separated but there remained some crossover, for example, the Fiesta programme was a universal service provided places for young people identified by the targeted services. The two areas would continue to work closely together when there were synergies between their respective areas.

What strategy or plan was there to make sure that there was a youth offer directly delivered by the youth service across the whole of the Borough?

Lack of direct provision in certain areas, such as Harefield, had been noted. However, data received showed that young people from the Harefield area were attending sessions at Fountains Mill Young People’s Centre, so it was clear that services were being offered and engaged with. Travel was easy and incentivised for young people, through the Borough’s transport system.

With regard to strategy, the service faced challenges such as understanding and accommodating young people’s changing desires. For example tt had been found that many young people were not interested in attending Youth Centres, and so the service was attempting to understand why this was. In addition, the difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled youth workers remained a challenge. To meet this challenge, recruitment was currently underway. Currently, there were no plans to expand the number of youth centres, but instead maximise on the existing resources.

The promotion of sport across the Borough had been a big success, and the Council was continuing to fund facilities such as new football pitches, club houses and the like. This was in direct response to feedback from the young people and the uptake of these sports services, while aligning with the interests of the young people, also promoted good health and wellbeing.

Youth Centres also included kitchen areas where cookery courses for young people were being held.

How did the Council engage with uniformed youth groups to promote youth services across the Borough?

While the groups operated independently of the Council, the Council valued and supported the work they were doing. This included helping through financial grants, e.g. for the provision of a new minibus, or renovations to their premises, etc. Financial support ensured that the groups could continued to operate and grow. Promotion of recruitment for group leaders/adults could also be undertaken via advertisements in Hillingdon People, libraries, etc.

How did the Council engage with the Youth Council?

The Council valued and listened to feedback from the Youth Council, but it was important to recognise that this was just one voice. The Council aimed to regularly engage with youth, and to this end visited schools to promote Council led services such as the youth centres of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

How were the services helping young people who faced significant challenges such as a lack of engagement, confidence, education etc?

The targeted youth services area would focus  on meeting the needs of those young people identified as having significant particular needs. Universal services could help with matters such as social isolation within the school holidays, and officers were exploring how to bolster the provision during these holiday times. In addition, the Police ran the Cadet programme, and the Fire Brigade ran a similar program, which aimed to engage with young people and develop skills, social inclusion and self esteem.

It was agreed that further work on how to promote the available services to young people was required.

Councillor Mathers confirmed that he would engage with officers following the meeting to request further information on this topic, to be shared with the Committee.

What did the further £2.5m for youth services, as set in the Council’s  budget, comprise?

This figure comprised funding for the new leisure centre within West Drayton , which in turn would provide opportunities for young people activities and groups to operate out that site. The funding was also set aside for the relocation of a vehicle hub, the Looked After Family Acorn Centre, and a new site for the Young People’s Centre.

Members suggested that Youth Services be considered as the potential next major review of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the report be noted;

2.    That officers feed back on the provision of uniformed groups that had been omitted from the report;

3.    That Councillor Mathers engage with officers to request further information to be shared with the Committee, and

4.    That Youth Services be considered as the potential next major review of the Committee.