Agenda and minutes

Councillors on the Youth Cabinet are asked to consider whether they have any interest in any of the matters on the agenda and, if so, to formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Heather reported that the takeover day that had been discussed at the last meeting had now been confirmed and would be taking place on Friday 21 November.

All schools had been contacted about the day and would be asked to send pupil representatives to attend. If any member of the Youth Cabinet would like to attend, they should contact Heather.

Further to the Make Your Mark ballot which had been discussed at the last meeting, Heather gave feedback on the five topics that had received the most votes in the ballot:

Votes at 16. Give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in elections and referendums.

Everyone should be paid at least the Living Wage of £7.65 per hour (£8.80 in London). Anyone who works, regardless of age, should have a decent standard of living.

Mental health services should be improved with our help. We should all learn about common mental health issues at school and negative stereotypes should be challenged.

Work Experience. We should have the chance to do at least a week’s placement, at a place of our choosing. We should have access to professionals who inspire us.

Bring back exam resits in Maths and English in English schools, and help us achieve our potential.

The three that had been supported the most by Bury voters were:

Work Experience, The Living Wage andMaths and English resits in England

The Youth Parliament will use its House of Commons debate which will be held this year on 14th November to choose its priority campaigns for the year ahead from the five topics listed above.

The debate will be chaired by The Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, recorded in Hansard and broadcast live on BBC Democracy Live.

A representative from the Anti Social Behaviour Team will report at the meeting and answer questions raised in relation to issues around anti social behaviour.

Rachel Henry the Council’s Anti Social Behaviour Co-ordinator attended the meeting to talk about the work that she carried out across the borough in relation to anti social behaviour.

It was explained that there were a lot of organisations with responsibility for anti social behaviour across the borough including the Council, Police and Six Town Housing.

The Council were part of a joint enforcement team (JET) with the Police and Rachel spent part of her week based at the Police Station.

Rachel explained that her role included prevention work such as the ‘Be Safe Be Cool’ scheme, giving advice on behaviour to people and groups and carrying out enforcement.

Rachel explained that there would soon be a number of new measures in place following the introduction of the Anti-social behaviour, Crime and Policing Act which would provide simpler, more effective powers to tackle ASB.

Anti Social Behaviour orders would no longer be used and injunctions would be used instead.

Rachel gave examples of anti social behaviour and how to tackle it.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and the following points were raised:-

·         It was explained that there was a metal shed in Whitehead Park on Ainsworth Road that was attracting youths. The shed was often covered in graffiti and vandalised. Was there anything that could be done?

Rachel explained that the following would have to be identified:-

Ø  What it is

Ø  Who owns it

Ø  What is it used for

Ø  Whether a site visit could be carried out

Rachel stated that she would try to get this information before taking the matter any further.

·         It was asked whether there could be an age restriction placed on the play areas within the parks as sometimes on Dow Lane Park there would be older youths on the playground who stopped the younger ones from playing there.

Rachel explained that there could be age limits placed on playgrounds but these were very difficult to enforce.

·         Councillor Hussain explained that litter was becoming a big problem in Manchester Road Park and asked what could be done about this.

Rachel explained that outreach work could be carried out to educate around littering. The number of bins in and around the park could be reviewed to see if there were an adequate and enforcement could be carried out which would be a deterrent.

·         It was asked whether smoking in parks could be stopped.

All playgrounds within parks were smoke free and should be signed as such. If someone was smoking in a playground they could be requested to stop and the notice signs pointed out.

It was agreed:

That Rachel be thanked for attending the Youth Cabinet meeting.

The Youth Cabinet Campaign was identified at the last meeting of the Youth Cabinet:-

Young people want more opportunities to access adults they can talk to. Young people want an independent person in schools who can mediate between staff and students.

Heather will report at the meeting on the progress made.

It was explained that at the last meeting of the Youth Cabinet it had been agreed that one of the campaigns for young people in Bury would be:-

“Young people want more access to adults they can talk to. Young people want an independent person in schools who can mediate between staff and students”.

The young people present were asked to discuss in groups how this issue should be promoted and campaigned on. The following ideas were put forward:-

The outcome of the campaign would be a service that provided an adult to talk to in confidence that wasn’t a teacher within a school or college. They would be impartial. The service would be located away from an educational setting and could be in a central location such as connexions or the New Kershaw Centre. The service would be accessed without the need for an appointment but there would be advertised set hours.

There could also be a dedicated phone number that young people could phone where they could discuss their worries

The services would be established by the Council and the youth service and schools and colleges could also contribute.

It was suggested that young people could contact their head teachers, local Councillors, Mentors at school and other people within their peer group to ask them to join and promote the campaign. They may be able to add their own ideas and views to the campaign.

It was agreed:

That the ideas discussed would be evaluated before being put into action.

Heather will report at the meeting.

Heather explained that the Children and Young People’s Plan was a plan that set out how the local Council and its partners would support the young people across Bury for the coming 3 years.

The plan was developed by the Children’s Trust Board and had highlighted the following three priorities to focus on for the next three years – 2015 to 2018:-

·         Preventing alcohol and substance misuse

·         Developing resilience and improving emotional health

·         Early help

It was agreed:

That the three priorities be noted.

Those  present will debate the following topic:-

Should the age of consent to have sex in this country change from 16?

SHOULD THE AGE OF CONSENT TO HAVE SEX IN THIS COUNTRY CHANGE FROM 16?

All of the young people present were asked to decide whether they felt that the age of consent to have sex should be higher or lower than 16 years old or should stay at 16.

A debate took place with a vote at the end and the majority agreed that the age of consent should remain at 16.

A discussion and vote took place to decide which topic should be debated at the next meeting of the Youth Cabinet.

It was agreed:

That the debate at the next meeting would be:

Should Capital Punishment, including the Death Penalty be re-introduced into the British justice system?

The next meeting of the Youth Cabinet will be held on Thursday 11 December 2014 at the Town Hall.