Agenda item

To receive a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which details the evidence to be considered as part of the first formal session of the Scrutiny Board’s inquiry into Youth Services

The Board received a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which detailed the information to be considered as part of the first formal session of the Board’s inquiry into Youth Services.

Appended to the report for Members’ information was the agreed terms of reference for the inquiry, in addition to a report from the Head of Youth Service detailing the information requested for this session, which included an update on the Youth Service Ofsted Action Plan.

Rosemary Archer, Director of Children’s Services and John Paxton, Head of Youth Service were both in attendance to answer Members’ queries and questions.

Following a brief overview of the main points highlighted within the documents, a question and answer session ensued. The main areas of discussion were as follows:-

·  The approach taken by the Youth Service when delivering services to young people in Leeds and the extent to which such an approach  reflected the current national position;

·  The impact that the greater emphasis now being placed upon extended schools provision was having in Leeds;

·  The levels of service provided to young people with disabilities, whether such service provision maintained an inclusive approach and the procedures in place to ensure that young people with learning difficulties were consulted about the services they received;

·  Members raised concerns about the national targets set in relation to engagement with young people and questioned whether such targets were linked to levels of need or deprivation in a particular area;

·  The extent to which the services provided by schools were being affected by the extensive PFI programme in Leeds. Members then requested a position statement relating to the impact of the PFI programme in Leeds for the next session of the inquiry;

·  Members questioned how the Youth Service, in co-ordination with other agencies, would develop their services in accordance with the ‘Youth Matters: Next Steps’ document;

·  Whether there was any intention for the Youth Service to provide additional resources in areas which experienced high levels of anti-social behaviour;

·  Following Members’ enquiries, the Head of Youth Service undertook to provide the Board with further Ward based information on those young people who had engaged with the Youth Service in Leeds disaggregated by age group;

·  The ways in which the commissioning of youth services from the voluntary and community sectors was being rolled out across Leeds, and the resources that organisations from such sectors were being allocated;

·  The areas which had received mobile youth provision in Leeds, the reasons why such areas had been chosen and the frequency of the visits by the mobile units to these areas;

·  The extent to which young people were given the opportunity to influence youth service provision in the city, with particular reference being made to those young people who currently did not use the service;

·  Questions were also raised about the age range of the respondents to the Youth Service user survey and how representative they were of young people in Leeds. In response, the Head of Youth Service undertook to provide the Board with further information on the responses to the survey;

·  The extent to which the Youth Service used its resources to engage with young people aged 11 and 12 years;

·  Having made reference to a recently published report concerning the behaviour of young people throughout Europe, Members enquired whether the Youth Service had observed the ways in which other countries delivered services to young people and suggested that the cities twinned with Leeds could be contacted in order to obtain such information;

·  The effect that the implementation of the 2006 Childcare Act would have on the provision of services to young people in Leeds.

RESOLVED –

(a). That the report and information appended to the report be noted;

(b). That the issues raised be incorporated into the Board’s inquiry on youth services;

(c). That the additional information requested be provided to the next session of the Board’s inquiry in December.

(Following the conclusion of this item, Councillor Chapman declared a personal and prejudicial interest in relation to agenda item 7 entitled, ‘Youth Service Inquiry – Session Two’, due to being a Lead Member for Neighbourhoods and Housing, the portfolio for which specifically related to Area Committees. Councillor Chapman left the meeting at 11.10 a.m. at the conclusion of this item)