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 14 October 2025 are attached.

The below amendment to the minutes were requested:

Page 1 - Date of the minutes of the previous meeting to be amended to 17 July 2025

It was agreed:

That with the minor amend the Minutes of the last meeting held on 14 October 2025 be approved as a correct record.

Inspector Barton from Greater Manchester Police attended the meeting to explain about the work of the Police since the last meeting.

Inspector Barton advised that there is has been increased activity on transport including the metro with a focus around Abraham Moss. This heightened activity is due in part to the feedback from Youth Cabinet.  

Youth Cabinet members were reminded that there are multiple ways they can report issues including 999, 111 and ‘Fearless’, a confidential reporting system for young people.

Jen Mills reminded members that the annual schools led police conference is taking place on 13 February 2026.  Members were asked ‘Now that it is getting dark earlier, do you feel less safe?’

Members discussed this question and provided feedback including:

·       Have seen more security around the interchange which helps make me feel safer

·       Does feel a bit more scary wen its dark

·       Concerns about temperature - supporting older people

·       Request for more lighting

o   Closer to the ground to make it easier to see where we are walking

o   In general in the Chesham area

·       Have seen more anti-social behaviour in places like Dickie Bird

·       There are some issues with gangs

·       Issue in Chesham Woods where there used to be a barrier system which has been removed.  This could be dangerous in icy weather

·       Suggestion of starting walking networks to enable young people walking in the same direction to walk together

Inspector Barton thanked everyone for their feedback and reminded members of the importance of reporting all issues they see or hear about. Members were also asked to consider items they would like to be on the agenda for the conference to enable the correct officers to be in attendance. 

The Chair raised several issues that had taken place since the last Youth Cabinet meeting including bricks and fireworks thrown at trams in Prestwich and a stabbing at Abraham Moss. Despite these incidents being reported they continue to happen on a regular basis. 

Inspector Barton recognised the validity of the comments and reiterated his comments that all incidents need to be reported.  He explained that this intelligence is used to deploy officers so the more people who report issues the more resources will be deployed to an area.

Councillor Lancaster suggested that Youth Cabinet should write to the Mayor to express their concerns.  Youth Cabinet agreed that this should be discussed at the next meeting including encouraging other youth services and other groups to write to the Mayor to highlight their concerns.

The Director of Public Health, Jon Hobday opened the discussion and asked Youth Cabinet members if they had any concerns or issues they wanted to discuss. 

Members raised and discussed issues including:

·       School nurses not being present

·       Mental health provision in schools

·       Discipline in schools

·       Peer on peer support and mentoring

·       Vaping and use of substances

Jon agreed to look into the issue of school nurses not being present and would report back to a future meeting. 

Members were advised that the Circles of Influence vent took place at the beginning of November with 70 young people attending. 

Officers and young people are working on the report from the event and this will be brought back to Youth Cabinet.

An update will be given at the meeting

There was an information evening last week where 22 young people attended to find out more information on standing in the elections. 

The closing date is 19 December 2025 with the election taking place in February 2026. 

Samir advised that since the last Youth Cabinet meeting, he had met with GMP and MP’s and kept getting the same response that resources aren’t there.

Samir advised that since the last Youth Cabinet meeting they had discussed:

·       Mental health

·       Development day in Moss Side for the Youth Combined Authority

·       Child poverty statistics

More information would be provided at the next meeting of Youth Cabinet.

Since the last Youth Cabinet meeting there are the following updates:

·         Training package is going well

·         There have been updates on social media

·         A session was held with Ben Dunne to discuss his new role as Director, Education & Skills

·         A participation group with CAHMS was held

Further feedback will be brought to the next Youth Cabinet meeting

The topic proposed for this Youth Cabinet meeting was ‘Should school holidays be shortened to allow a longer Christmas break?’

The majority of members present agreed this should not be debated due to time constraints. 

Bee Network

Noah updated attendees on issues discussed at the Bee Network since the last Youth Cabinet meeting:

·         Number one priority has been the interchange

·         There are now 30 cameras on the Metrolink in Bury

·         Discussions around travel safe officers

·         Violence towards women and girls

·         Stand D and E at Bury interchange currently closed due to new building but there has been a lack of updates around this

·         Number 90 bus service is currently every 30 minutes but due to the regeneration work in Prestwich can’t stop at all stops so a request for an additional stop has been made

·         Whitefield tunnel was delayed due to a family of bats

·         Issues have been raised about the 487 bus service that students from St Gabriels use due to overcrowding.  An additional service may be implemented during busy periods

·         Issues surrounding bins on buses

·         2030 strategy is to ensure that 90% of people within Bury are within walking distance of bus services, all buses electric by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2038

·         New tram routes and stops being planned

Noah was thanked for his update. 

Youth MP Elections

Members asked further questions around the Youth MP elections including:

·         Can posters have extended versions of the manifestos on them?

• What happens if someone who is doing their GCSE's applies?
• What about home school community? How would they know when to vote?