Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were recorded above.

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 28 January 2025 are attached.

It was agreed:

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

Any Items relating to the Minutes of the last meeting that are not included on the agenda.

Notice of motion It was asked why the meeting was not being held in the Council Chamber and noted that this was the second meeting of the formal Youth Cabinet to be held away from the Council Chamber.

It was explained that there was a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel that had been arranged to be held on the same date in the Council Chamber and access would be required to the Chamber from 6.30pm.

Samir explained that the youth cabinet had prepared a notice of motion that should have been presented to Council at its meeting in March.

The Motion had been in relation to the establishment of school councils in Bury schools with appointed representatives who would participate in Youth Cabinet.

The motion was to be presented at the meeting by the Bury Youth Mayor who was due to attend. Samir explained that the motion had been withdrawn from the meeting on the day by council officers without consulting with the youth cabinet. Samir asked why the motion was withdrawn and asked what the next steps would be.

Jeanette Richards reported that there had been a question in relation to the wording of the motion where is stated that the Council would resolve to ‘ensure schools participate’, it was explained that this was interpreted as an expectation that all schools participate which they may not be able to do.

Jeanette suggested that the motion be reworded and could then be resubmitted to Council at a later date.

Councillor O’Brien explained that the motion could have been reworded at the meeting during its consideration from ‘ensure’ to ‘encourage’.

Jeanette apologised for the breakdown in communication in relation to the motion and explained that she had believed that the youth cabinet had been advised that the motion was to be withdrawn.

It was agreed

That the motion would be reworded and resubmitted to the council at its July meeting.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Eamonn O’Brien to talk about his work as Leader of the Council and Questions and Answers.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien was welcomed to the meeting and invited to introduce himself and talk about his role as Leader of the Council.

Councillor O’Brien explained the role of the Leader within the Council and the difference between the 3 different types of mayor’s within government.

It was explained that he was committed to:

·         Improving children’s lives, health, education, shills, good holes and opportunities.

·         Tackling inequalities across the borough

·         Delivering inclusive and sustainable growth that local people can benefit from including accessible transport and the right skills to get a good job.

He reported that he was the lead for technical education and skills within the GMCA and part of this was ensuring that a good support system is in place for young people. This included the successful provision of opportunities such as baccalaureate, T levels, apprenticeships and advice and guidance for those who want something other than university education.

Councillor O’Brien also explained that he was also the lead across GM on clean air.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions:

·         It was asked whether the disparity between the salary of the Chief Executive and the Leader’s allowance was fair.

Councillor O’Brien explained that the Councillors were awarded an allowance and did not receive a salary. A Councillor received a basic allowance and then dependant on their role would also receive a Special Responsibility Allowance for being a member or deputy member of the cabinet, chairing a committee, being a GMCA representative and for being a group leader or deputy leader. The Cabinet made decisions supported by their councillor colleagues, but it was up to officers of the council to implement those decisions and ensure that the council kept to its statutory obligations.

It was also explained that the Councillors allowance did not include a pension and the role of a councillor was only for the term they were elected for with no guarantee that they would be re-elected after the four year term.

It was agreed:

That Councillor O’Brien be thanked for his attendance at the meeting.

An update will be given at the Meeting

It was reported that the UK Youth Parliament had taken place on the 28 February with a sitting at the House of Commons.

Samir had attended as the Member of Youth Parliament for Bury.

The debate had been the importance of political education and literacy among young people and Samir had spoken about this during the debate.

Samir thanked Councillor Lucy Smith and Heather Walton for their support.

It was reported that the two national campaigns that UKYP had agreed on for the coming year were votes at 16 and period poverty.

Samir also reported that he had been working  with a select youth committee in relation to youth violence and social media. He had attended a sitting of the select committee to speak on the work that he had been involved in in relation to the subject.

An update will be given at the Meeting

Heather reported that work was progressing for the next Circles of Influence with key officers identified for each of the recommendations.

It was agreed:

That the update be noted

An update on the progress made with the Vape Sculpture will be given at the meeting.

Heather reported that the vape sculpture that had been commissioned following the approved Youth Cabinet motion at council in March 2024 had been completed.

Work was being finalised to confirm the onward journey but it was anticipated that the sculpture would be taken to schools across the borough. A narrative was being worked on and a report on the progress would be brought back to Youth Cabinet at a future meeting.

It was agreed:

That all those involved with the project be thanked for their input.

An update will be given at the Meeting.

It was explained that work had started on the Co-Production Kite Mark award 18 months ago to set up an award that would be given to organisations that carried out good co-production with young people across the borough.

The award had been agreed with the Children’s Strategic Partnership Board and had been based on the Lundy Model of Child Participation.

The assessment process had been agreed and had been used to carry out an assessment on a service within the youth service.

The assessment had been very thorough and it had been agreed by those involved that only one organisation could be assessed at a time with a maximum of 3 in any period of time.

Should Glossop Council be permitted to leave Derbyshire and join Greater Manchester?

Criminal records – should crimes committed before the age of 16 be wiped from criminal records?

A debate took place with arguments for and against and a vote was taken.

It was agreed:

That criminal records should not be wiped.

Kael, Laraib and Tobias stood for the position of Youth Mayor.

Each gave a statement as to why they should be elected as Youth Mayor.

A vote was taken and,

It was agreed:

1.    That Laraib be elected as Youth Mayor 2025/2026

2.    That Ariba be thanked for her excellent service to the Youth Cabinet

Heather reported that on Saturday 5 July there would e trip to London for members of the Youth Cabinet.

The train tickets had been purchased and the train would leave Manchester at 7.15am returning at 7.15pm. The visit includes a tour of parliament and a boat trip on the Thames followed by tea at Pizza Express.  There would also be the flexibility to visit other places around these trips.

Heather asked that all those that were interested in attending let her know.