Agenda and minutes

The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Sandra Walmsley attended the meeting to meet those present and to explain the role  of the Mayor.

The Mayor explained that she would be looking to work alongside Daniel the Youth Mayor to fuse the work of the Youth Cabinet and the Council. It was also explained that Daniel would be invited to attend civic events in his role of Youth Mayor.

The Mayor was supporting a number of charities during her Mayoral year including Early Break, which is an information and support service  for children and young people.

The Mayor explained that each year a new Mayor is elected from the 51 Councillors that make up the Council.

The role and duties of the Mayor, which are undertaken on behalf of the borough are varied and cover many aspects, but include:

acting as an ambassador for the borough

·         upholding civic pride

·         promoting the borough

·         encouraging and supporting local industry, business and commerce

·         supporting local charities and community groups

·         representing the Council at civic, social, cultural, charitable, religious or faith and many other wide ranging functions and events

·         chairing Council meetings

·         receiving official visitors.

The Mayor explained that as Mayor she is the borough's First Citizen and  holds a position of precedence over all persons within the borough, except in the direct presence of His Majesty The King, Members of the Royal Family or His Majesty's Lord Lieutenant.

The work of the  Mayor could be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Tik Tok.

Apologies were received from:

Analise, Courtney, Daisy, Georgia, Maddie, Jess, Michelle, Morgan and Phoebe

Councillor Members of the Youth Cabinet are asked whether they have any interest in any item on the agenda and if so, to formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 8 June 2023 are attached.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the Last meeting be approved subject to the following inclusion:

Co-production Kite Mark

It was explained that the Co-Production Kite mark was under development through the Children’s Strategic Partnership Board Co-production sub group – working with Youth Cabinet.  A toolkit was being developed, which includes training by young people as well as a range of other resources.

Organisations will be able to apply to be awarded the kitemark evidencing that they engage and involve young people as partners in order to develop the best services and support that meets young people’s needs.

Matters arising

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting.

Gareth Snook, Operational Manager with Early Break attended the meeting to ask those present to discuss the issues around substance misuse in schools and how they thought it should be dealt with.

It was explained that a working group had been established to look at how Bury schools should respond to young people bringing drugs and other substances into school. The group was made up of Gareth and Heather Walton as well as key agencies in Bury with a view to producing documents/guidance that all Bury schools could refer to.

The following points were raised:-

What do young people see in schools?

Vaping is the main issue. Targeted at young people with fruit flavours and bright packaging. Can be bought easily. Don’t know if buying illegal products that haven’t been tested and don’t know what they contain. Lots of shops sell them and don’t check ages.

Jeanette explained that public health were looking at concerns raised around vaping and the health concerns surrounding the use of them. It was also reported that the Council and Police had undertaken a joint project to target the sale of illegal vapes in Bury.

Councillor Thorpe referred to schools sanctions relating to issues around narcotics rather than vapes. It was also mentioned that shops selling vapes were located close to schools.

Those present were asked to consider the following 2 questions:-

1.    What should the sanction be if a student is caught using a vape in school should this be the same for selling vapes?

2.    What should the sanction be for bringing illegal (narcotics) substances into school? (At previous meeting of Youth Cabinet the debate concluded that sanctions around being caught with illegal substances shouldn’t be automatic permanent exclusion and should more about education around illegal substances).

It was reported that the Derby High School issued a 1 day fixed term exclusion to anybody found in possession /using a vape on school premises.

There should be more education on what impact vaping can have  as it could potentially more harmful than smoking and addictive as some contain nicotine.

Behaviour policies should include the schools’ procedures for exclusions and set out examples of when a permanent exclusion will be/could be issued. The policy should explain what will happen if a student is found to be in possession of substances including vapes and illegal drugs.

The language used should be reviewed to ensure that the policies can be understood and are clear and concise.

A managed move can be disruptive.

Schools should work with Early Break to provide drug intervention support if found to have drugs in school. Would education and support be more proactive than exclusion?

Gareth thanked everyone for their input and explained that the draft policy would be brought back to the Youth Cabinet for comment.

It was agreed:-

That Gareth be thanked for his attendance at the meeting.

Feedback from the Circles of Influence held on 6 July.

It was reported that the circles of influence had taken place on 6 July.

The event had been well attended with around  40 young people from a majority of schools groups and organisations including TfGM,  Councillors, NHS, Early Break, Six Town Housing and departments and officers.

The Youth Cabinet members in attendance on the day were thanked for their support.

Those present were asked for their feedback on the event and the following comments were made:

·         Good range of professionals in attendance

·         Well planned event.

·         Drama pieces were amazing

·         The range of activities were good

·         Gave you the opportunity to step out of comfort zone.

·         Lots of interaction

·         Everyone got on well throughout the event

It was explained that a report setting out the day and the outcomes would be produced and brought to a future meeting of the Youth Cabinet and to all partners involved.

It was explained that Chris Woodhouse, Strategic Partnership Manager had attended the Circles of Influence and was keen to get more information in relation to Safer Streets Funding. Chris was keen to have a walkabout with some young people who could identify areas in the town that they felt safe and unsafe.

Updates will be given at the meeting.

Daniel gave on the meeting of the GMYCA  that he had attended in relation to the Greater Manchester Bee Network that was being launched in Wigan, Bolton and parts of Bury from September 2023.

The Network is an integrated transport network for Greater Manchester comprising bus, tram trains, cycling and walking. Daniel explained that there was a Bee Network app that can be downloaded and from there you can buy tickets for bus and tram journeys and to rent the bee network bicycles. The app also lets the user rate their ride.

Daniel had attended an event at Manchester Met University where those attending had participated in a drams workshop looking at issues of mental health in education , how to address the issues and how young people with mental health issues are treated.

There was no Youthforia update.

It was agreed:

That Daniel be thanked for his update.

Those present are asked to decide on a topic for the big debate.

A debate will be held.

You will be given time to prepare.

A debate was held  - Should Ukraine be allowed to join NATO?

Following the debate a vote was held and:

It was agreed:

That Ukraine should NOT be allowed to join NATO.