Agenda and draft minutes

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 17 July 2025 are attached.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting held on 17 July 2026 be approved as a correct record.

Noah referred to the Bee Network meeting that he had attended as the Youth Representative. He reported that discussions had covered cycle paths, the Our Pass 18 – 21 scheme and two new hourly night buses services which  are proposed. He explained that the 135 (Manchester – Prestwich – Bury) and the 17/17a (Manchester – Middleton – Rochdale) buses which would connect Bury and Rochdale town centres with Manchester city centre. The new routes will initially run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. This reflects patronage trends which show that demand is expected to be initially lower at the start and middle of the week.

An update will be given at the meeting

It was reported that Violet and Laraib attended the meeting of Council on 16 July to present the Youth Cabinet Motion:

At our most recent Circles of Influence conference, it was identified that not all high schools within the borough have a School Council. Additionally, some existing councils lack a structured framework. To ensure comprehensive representation of young people across Bury, the Youth Cabinet proposes that Bury Council offer support to every high school to establish a School Council with appointed representatives. These representatives would participate in full Youth Cabinet meetings and a quarterly School Council Forum. To support this initiative, formal training will be offered to all schools, promoting a consistent and effective model.  Rationale:

Every student should have a platform to voice concerns, share ideas, and provide feedback on school life, contributing to positive change.

·         Leadership skills such as communication, collaboration, and decision-making are essential for young people but are often underdeveloped.

·         It is crucial to educate students about democracy, responsibility, and active citizenship.

·         Schools that engage with student perspectives can better identify areas for improvement and implement meaningful changes.

·         Empowering students fosters a sense of value, inclusion, and engagement in their school community.

·         Strengthening communication and collaboration between students and staff enhances the overall school environment.

·         The Bury Youth Cabinet acknowledges that the academisation of local schools presents challenges in maintaining consistent School Council standards.

This Council Notes:

·         Not all schools currently have functioning School Councils.

This Council Resolves To:

·         Encourage schools to participate in the provided training and forums.

·         Promote the benefits of School Councils to encourage widespread adoption.

·         Support full Youth Cabinet meetings and student representation initiatives. By implementing these measures, we aim to create a more inclusive, democratic, and student-focused education system across Bury.

It was explained that the motions was fully supported by all Councillors at the meeting.

Following the meeting the Youth Service has offered training to all high schools to support the development of school councils and student leadership. Tottington and Woodhey have already received the training and Bury Church has scheduled their session for after the half term.

These are delivered through active sessions in school.

It was felt that attendance at this week’s Youth Cabinet meeting reflected the success of these sessions, with new members from both Woodhey and Tottington taking part.

An update will be given at the meeting

It was explained that the Circles of Influence was an annual young people’s conference that took place with young people from across the borough and decision makers from different organisations and groups across Bury and the outcome was to inform planning, policy and practice in relation to Young People the services provided to them.

The 2025 Circles of Influence would be taking place on 12 November and will be lead by members of the Youth Cabinet.

An update from the event will be provided at the next meeting of the Youth Cabinet.

An update will be given at the meeting.

Samir reported that he had met with Caroline Simpson, Group Chief Executive for GMCA, GMFRS and TfGM in relation to safety on and around the Metrolink particularly near to Abraham Moss, Besses and Whitefield stations. Caroline had advised that she would take away the concerns and provide an update in relation them in the near future.

Samir also reported that he was due to attend a Youth Parliament event in London on 18 October.

The Youth Parliament elections would be taking place in February 2026 to nominate a new MYP for Bury and nominations will be invited to be submitted before the end of December and anyone that was thinking of standing was more than welcome to speak to Samir regarding the role.

Councillor Lancaster asked how much time was needed to carry out the role.

Samir explained that it can be as much pr as little as you want it to be. You are expected to attend meetings to represent the young people of Bury and also attend the annual conference which is held in London.

It was agreed:

That Samir be thanked for the update

An update will be given at the meeting

Violet gave an update on the GMYCA meeting that she had attended.

The Our Pass app had been updated to include a travel safe section, there had been an update on the work of the GMYP Plan working Group  in relation to safety  and places to go and from the Our Pass Group  in relation to the changes to offers and discounts.

It was agreed:

That Violet be thanked for the update

Scout reported that the Changemakers had been working with CAMHS regarding assessments and support for young people with Autism.

Work had also been ongoing to develop training packs for all teachers to help them work with young people with SEND needs.

It was agreed:

That Scout be thanked for the update.

An update will be given at the meeting

Chief Inspector Barton attended the meeting to give an update on policing issues and to answer any questions.

It was reported that there had been a youth kled policing conference and another would be arranged to be held in February to look at work that was ongoing with groups from the youth service. This was also being reported to a regional event as the work being undertaken was excellent and was having a far reaching impact.

Chief Inspector Barton reported that he had been attending schools all week to promote hate crime awareness week and wanted to that the schools that he had visited and the young people for their support with this.

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

·         Tobias referred to a previous request he had made in relation to having a larger police presence in the Fern Grove area and stated that he had seen more of a police presence in the area. He thanked Chief Inspector Barton with regards to this.

·         Tobias also explained that he had asked about neighbourhood policing in the area but hadn’t seen any as yet.

·         Samir reported that GM had been working with the travel police to make travelling across Manchester safer and Bury Police had resources locally to help. There would also be a few operations across the travel network over the Halloween period and over Christmas.

·         Jen Mill explained that the Youth Service had a detached offer that targeted areas where concern had been raised, or incidents reported.

It was agreed:

That the update be noted

Jon Hobday, Director of Public Health will update at the meeting and answer questions in relation to health and young people across the borough.

The Director of Public Health, Jon Hobday attended the meeting to discuss with the group about issues relating to young people and their health and to give the Youth Cabinet the opportunity to raise any concerns or issues or areas that were successful with regards to health support across the borough.

The young people present were asked what they felt the most important issues were:-

·         Mental Health Support

·         Support in schools

·         Information relating to physical and mental health

·         Addictipon support

·         Education on vaping & smoking

·         How students’ behaviour in schools can affect mental health

·         Support for mental health through PSHE

·         Drugs & Alcohol – effects on mental health

·         The perception that vaping and smoking drugs is ‘cool’

·         Psychological health

·         Expectations from social media – filters affecting perceptions on how you should look

·         Mental health since covid

·         Manosphere – misogyny

·         Relationship education

Jon explained that his team worked alongside a number of partners across many of the issues that had been raised.   Trading Standards  carry out surveys on behaviours like smoking and vaping which informs on the number of young people that vape and smoke and can assist with cracking down on illegal and underage sale of tobacco and vapes.

Councillor Smith suggested that young people should co-produce the services that they really need and could reach out to schools and colleges to see what support should look like.

It was agreed:

That all members of the Youth Cabinet would be contacted through google forms to input their ideas of what support should be offered.

There will be a Festival of Remembrance being held at Bury Parish Church on 4 November from 7pm.

The evening will include music, readings, and reflections, bringing together veterans, members of the community, civic leaders, and representatives from local organisations.

The Youth Cabinet are asked if they would like to contribute to the event by writing and reading a poem etc.

It was explained that a Festival of Remembrance was being organised to be held on 4^th November at the Parish Church and the Youth Cabinet had been invited to participate.

All present were invited to send their input to a poem to the WhatsApp Group and anyone wating to volunteer to read the poem at the event should let the Youth Participation know.

Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

Youth Cabinet members took part in the debate, there was a side for and against.

It was agreed:

1. That prisoners should not be allowed to vote.

Alex reported that he had been speaking with the Bury North MP James Frith with regards to having more medically trained public transport drivers.

Alex explained that he was attending a TfGM meeting and he had also contacted the MP for Bury South.

Discussion was had about the position of the big debate on the agenda and it was felt that the Police and Health updates could be first on the agenda, the debate in the middle and then youth updates at the end.