Meeting documents
Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee
Monday, 8th October 2007
Present
Chair
Cllr T Harney
Councillors
S L Clarke, Karen Hayes
Deputy
AER Jones (for Cllr Mrs CM Meaden)
PA Smith (for Cllr SA Brown)
Council Officers
Steve Chan (Acting Head, Play), Lindsay Davidson (Deputy Head of Youth Service: Policy Development), Terry Hall (Deputy Head, Field Support), Maureen McDaid (Head of Youth & Play Service)
Apologies
Maureen Bonny (Wirral Play Council), Cllr Sarah Quinn
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
- Minute 2 - MINUTES
- Minute 3 - MATTERS ARISING
- Minute 4 - HEAD OF SERVICE'S REPORT
- Minute 5 - WALLASEY YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECT and the SEACOMBE LIBRARY PEER RESEARCH PROJECT
- Minute 6 - YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND / YOUTH CAPITAL FUND 2007/08
- Minute 7 - SUMMER HOLIDAY PLAYSCHEMES
- Minute 8 - YOUTH PARLIAMENT - UPDATE
- Minute 9 - PLAY CHAMPION
- Minute 10 - DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Minute 1 - APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Minute Text :
A number of young people were present for the meeting:
James Murray, Andy Beck and Hannah Williams, representing the Youth Opportunities grant panel;
Katy, Andrew and Andrew representing the Seacombe Library Peer Research Project.
Apologies - as above.
Minute 2 - MINUTES
Minute Text :
The minutes of the previous meeting (as the Youth Service Advisory Committee), held on 9 July 2007, were accepted as a correct record.
Minute 3 - MATTERS ARISING
Minute Text :
Further to minute 3, it was noted that the expected surveys of housing needs and homelessness had still not been presented to the Council.
Minute 4 - HEAD OF SERVICE'S REPORT
Minute Text :
Maureen McDaid submitted a comprehensive report on the work of the Youth and Play Service since the previous meeting and highlighted a number of items.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That Maureen McDaid be thanked for her report and the contents be noted.
(2) That the DVD "Misundastood" (dealing with issues relating to the application of Section 30) be shown to a future meeting.
(3) That the next meeting receive a presentation on the issue of homelessness.
(4) That, further to the submission of the Play Lottery bid, the Committee record its appreciation of the work of the Wirral Play Partnership and of Steve Chan, Acting Deputy Head (Youth and Play).
Minute 5 - WALLASEY YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECT and the SEACOMBE LIBRARY PEER RESEARCH PROJECT
Minute Text :
The Committee received details - via a report and a display - of the Seacombe Library Peer Research Project, which was Wirral’s contribution to the 'Fulfilling Their Potential' project, a national initiative in which libraries connected with a range of local partners to enable them to engage with young people who were then encouraged to influence changes and developments in their Library Service. Mike Holbrook, the project leader, explained that Katy, Andrew and Andrew had been nominated by Oldershaw School, and had worked, together with other young people on the project, in their own time. They had visited libraries in other authorities, and had been involved in active consultation and participation appraisal via a 21-part questionnaire that they had devised. The project had received national recognition.
The aim of the project was to find out how best to develop the facilities at Seacombe Library. The suggested changes included brightening up the building, better signage, how young people were treated whilst there and what rules should be applied. The main reason for young people attending the library was the use of computers, and the view was that there was still too much emphasis on books, many of which were felt to be out of date. In encouraging more use of the facilities, it would be necessary to avoid any conflict with different groups of users, and lessons were being learnt from the successful Powerhouse library project in Manchester.
The Chair thanked Katy, Andrew and Andrew for their attendance.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the young people be congratulated on their project.
Minute 6 - YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND / YOUTH CAPITAL FUND 2007/08
Minute Text :
Maureen McDaid provided an update on the 2007/08 Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund, through which Wirral received an allocation of £392,513 for both the 2006/07 and 2007/08 financial years. For the previous year the young people’s grant panel had recommended allocating the money across 66 successful Wirral projects. The panel also reviewed the paperwork associated with the application process in readiness for application packs to be set out in the new financial year. Recruitment for the 2007/08 young people’s grant panel had commenced in April 2007. Numerous young people were invited to be part of the panel including those from schools, voluntary and statutory youth groups and Area Youth Forums. Throughout the year, at events such as United Kingdom Youth Parliament and Youth Conference/Parliament, young people were asked if they wished to be part of a future panel, and young people who were harder to reach were specifically targeted to be represented, such as looked-after children, young people with disabilities or learning difficulties. The training for serving on the panel took place in May and June 2007, which was jointly facilitated by young people from the previous year’s grant panel, who were keen to be involved to share their experiences with the newer panel members. The training covered the process of scoring applications against the set criteria with particular emphasis on equality of opportunity and confidentiality. A total of 17 young people attended the training sessions.
Application packs were available from the first week in April 2007 with a deadline of 27 June. The panel had met over several days to make their decisions. In addition, applicants who were successful last year and who applied for funding over £2,000 to continue or develop their project were asked to give a short presentation to the panel. These presentations took place on 10 and 12 July and were scored by young people in a similar manner to applications. A total of 81 applications were received (excluding 10 late ones that the panel decided not to consider), which amounted to a total requested of £614,326.02. Young people on the grant panel made the following decisions relating to these applications:
• 44 successful applications, totalling - £196,793.28
• 37 unsuccessful applications
• Overall remaining after 1st round - £180,719.72 (£98,199.32 YOF and £82,520.40 YCF)
A full list of the allocations was set out in the appendix to the report, which included a number of projects to assist vulnerable groups. The deadline for the second round was 17 September, and the young people would be making the decisions about the applications in October and November.
Lindsay Davidson explained the rigorous approach adopted by the panel in order to ensure transparency, and more emphasis in future would be placed on applicants giving a presentation. In addition, the application form and scoring sheets were being refined. Councillor Clarke supported that approach. Lindsay Davidson stressed also that each application had to be supported by an appropriate organisation that would oversee child protection and health and safety issues. The Chair expressed the view that consultation was more important than ever, and the panel members would be a useful addition to that process.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That the report be noted and the Committee record its thanks and congratulations to the members of the panel.
(2) That the members of the Committee be advised of the dates of the panel's next meetings so that, if possible, they might observe the decision process in action.
Minute 7 - SUMMER HOLIDAY PLAYSCHEMES
Minute Text :
Steve Chan submitted a comprehensive report on the Summer Holiday Playscheme Programme and Youth & Play Service’s playschemes operating during 2007, and highlighted a number of items, in particular the fact that the target of 3000 registered participants had been reached.
Councillor Clarke commented that the playscheme at Higher Bebington Junior School had been well run, and, in response to Councillor Hayes' enquiry, Steve Chan explained that all scheme were advertised via schools and in the local newspaper. Councillor Smith suggested that the success of the programme should also be publicised. James Murray added that it might lead to more volunteers becoming involved, and Hannah Williams stated that sixth formers at her school had helped with some schemes. The Chair referred to the need to ensure that the new District Boards for children's services, and Area Forums, were aware of the extent of play provision, in order to help improve the integration of services. Steve Chan pointed out that a key feature of the new Play Strategy would be the establishment of local play partnerships covering the four districts.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That the report be noted.
(2) That a press release explaining the success of the Summer Holiday Playscheme Programme be prepared.
Minute 8 - YOUTH PARLIAMENT - UPDATE
Minute Text :
Maureen McDaid submitted details of the Youth Parliament update session, which had been held on 9 July. The purpose of the event had been to allow young people to report back to other young people on the progress made in relation to the issues raised at the Youth Parliament (October 2006).
A number of young people had been involved in 'scrutiny' meetings with officers and, in some cases, elected members, from both the Council and partner organisations. At those meetings young people presented the issues and, with officers and members, identified what had been done, what could be done and what could not be done. In some instances some of the issues needed clarification, an example of this being in respect of frequency of the bin collection. In the meeting with Merseytravel, young people had raised the age at which full fare was paid. They were advised that that was an issue for Parliament to address, as it was linked to legislation, and an offer was made to help young people pursue the matter with Parliament.
Following the meetings, the feedback was drafted as a report which would be presented verbally by the young people at the update session on 9 July. Then the young people present were asked to assess the progress made so far. Using red, amber or green indicators, the young people had judged the progress to date (set out in Annex A to the report). The colours indicated the following:
• Green: I like what you are doing, this is what I want
• Amber: This is OK, but I would like …..
• Red: This is not what I want
The participants at the update session were asked to identify those areas about which they were not happy. Although written as statements those issues would be incorporated as action points for the next Youth Parliament to look into. Annex B contained list of issues.
Maureen McDaid went on to explain that he Youth Parliament was one strand of the participation activities offered to young people in Wirral. In some instances the Youth Service would be working with small groups of young people, as in scrutiny groups, to allow the young people to participate fully. What was important was the link back to wider forums so that young people could be briefed on progress. Young people had a right to expect outcomes from their involvement but equally they were learning that things do not happen overnight. Overall the feedback from young people who had been involved in those activities had been positive. The Chair supported that view and stated that he was looking forward to further evaluation and increased participation by young people over the next year.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 9 - PLAY CHAMPION
Minute Text :
The Committee was advised of the action being taken to appoint a Play Champion for Wirral. The Play Partnership had put out an advertisement, which had included a job description, but responses so far had not been satisfactory. In the meantime, Peter Edmondson, Head of Branch (Participation and Inclusion) was acting in the position. Steve Chan pointed out that in other authorities the champion was an officer or a councillor, or they had more than one person covering the role.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That recommendations on this issue be submitted to the next meeting.
Minute 10 - DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Minute Text :
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That the next meeting be held on Monday 7 January ay 5.30pm.
(2) That consideration be given to holding meetings of the Committee at other venues.
(Minutes Published: 28 December 2007)