Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities), which provides the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services) with an update on the delivery of the Youth Activity Fund with a focus, in particular, on the progress with the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Board’s on 25th February 2016.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) submitted a report which provided an update on the delivery of the Youth Activity Fund with a particular focus on the progress with the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services) on 25 February 2016.

The following information was appended to the report:

-  Youth Activity Fund Steering Group – Terms of Reference

-  Communities Team – Summer Peer Inspections of Youth Activity Fund Activities 2016

-  Proposed Best Practice Youth Activities Fund Model

-  Community Committee Children and Families Sub Group – Draft Terms of Reference

-  Youth Activity Fund Attendance Data and Budget Allocation.

The following were in attendance:

-  Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Executive Board Member, Children and Families

-  Councillor Jane Dowson, Deputy Executive Board Member, Children and Families

-  Sue Rumbold, Chief Officer, Partnership Development and Business Support

-  Andrea Richardson, Head of Service, Learning for Life

-  Martin Dean, Area Leader (South East Leeds)

-  Aretha Hanson, Area Officer (South East Leeds).

The key areas of discussion were:

·  Progress regarding the recommendations made at the February 2016 Board meeting.

·  Clarification sought regarding some of the financial information contained in the report, particularly the level of underspend.  It was suggested that further, more detailed information be presented to the Board, to include clarification regarding the formula for allocating funding to community committees.

·  Clarification regarding the spending of wellbeing funding on youth activities in areas where YAF was considered to be underspent.

·  The need to ensure that activities were publicised to all groups, particularly children and young people with SEND and BME groups.

·  Support for the development of an ‘app’ to publicise activities.

·  Confirmation that the process for bringing together the application for youth activity funding and community committee wellbeing funding had been completed.  In addition, the Breeze Card requirements to access events had also been reviewed and simplified.

·  Clarification sought regarding the quality of information gathered from youth activity consultations and peer inspections. 

·  Concern about the consistency of high-quality feedback across the city, particularly within the inner west area, which should be utilised to inform the commissioning / funding of future schemes.

·  The need to implement a city-wide steering group to monitor the quality of planned activities and feedback and ensure the attainment of city-wide value for money.

·  A request that future financial detail concerning YAF was scheduled for discussion after the end of the financial year to assess total underspend for each community committee. 

RESOLVED – That the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services):

(a)  Continues to endorse the establishment of a steering group to further improve and develop quality, practice and outcomes relating to community committees funding and support of youth activities.

(b)  Recommends continued work to ensure city-wide best practice regarding the engagement of children and young people in the decision making processes of committees.

(c)  Recommends that the full peer inspection activities report be provided to the Board.

(d)  Requests that a further update report be brought to the Board for consideration of:

·  Investment made in youth activities and the total annual YAF spend 2016/17 by community committees.

·  The inclusion of SEND and BME groups in youth activities and how activities were promoted in relation to hard to reach groups.

·  A progress update regarding the recommendations made by the Board.

(Councillor M Iqbal left the meeting at 12.25pm and Mr A Graham at 12.35pm, during the consideration of this item.)