Agenda item

To consider recommendations made by Cabinet at its meeting held on 28 September 2023. A report will follow as a supplement.

Council agreed to

A)       Ask officers to share the general feedback received from young people during the Task & Finish Group’s work with local authorities and educational providers so they can take this into account when providing their services.

B)       Ask officers to write to Village Colleges in South Cambridgeshire to offer the opportunity to present to them on the elections process and ask if we can further support their curriculum.

C)       Note the successful youth engagement programme currently run by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service and supports the provision of appropriate coaching to enable officers in other priority areas such as housing and local business to find ways of similarly involving young people.

D)       Ask officers to investigate the feasibility of holding, within the next 12 months, a scheduled meeting of the Climate and Environment Advisory Committee at a local educational establishment, to which students and other young people should be invited.

E)        Ask the Leader to write a letter to the Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority highlighting the feedback from young people on the limitations of public transport and urging him to take into account their views when developing proposals for bus franchising.

F)        Invite young people, including from the groups approached as part of the Task & Finish exercise (Appendix 1), to contribute evidence to officers involved in developing a new Equality Policy embracing generational differences.

G)       Encourage all Members of South Cambridgeshire District Council to commit to engaging with young people and representative organisations in their wards by establishing regular visits to local schools, colleges, youth clubs and other locations as appropriate.

Councillor Bill Handley presented this report, which summarised the work carried out and the conclusions reached by the Young People Task and Finish Group. It detailed the recommendations approved by the Scrutiny and Overview Committee and endorsed, with a few amendments, by Cabinet on 28 September 2023. Councillor Bill Handley thanked the Task and Finish Group for their work, which had been unanimously supported by Cabinet.

Councillor Richard Stobart explained that the Task and Finish Group had been set up following last year’s motion agreed by Council. The Group had decided to define young people as those aged from 11 to 25, from secondary education to those starting out on their careers. Mental health and depression in young people had been a major concern, as had absence from school during the Covid-19 pandemic. There had been an eagerness to participate in the democratic process and it had been agreed that the Council should ask an educational institution to host a meeting of the Climate and Environment Advisory Committee. He thanked officers for their support of the work of the Group.

Councillor Graham Cone, Chair of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee, endorsed the report and thanked the Task and Finish Group for their work.

Councillor Daniel Lentell noted that Village Colleges would be contacted regarding the elections process and he requested that other secondary schools be included. Councillor Richard Stobart supported this, as there had been no intention of the Task and Finish Group to exclude other secondary schools.

Councillor Heather Williams stated that her motion of September 2019 had been rejected but then a similar motion had been approved last year. She hoped that those who had voted against her motion in 2019 would not repeat their mistake and the Council would act to benefit future generations.

Councillor Dr Tumi Hawkins announced that youth engagement was a priority for the Greater Cambridge Planning Service. A careers fair had been held the day before in the Great Barn in Bourn, where school children had been encouraged to consider a career in the planning service. The consultation on the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement included engaging with young people.

It was noted that many of the recommendations had been taken up by Cabinet. A vote was taken and by affirmation

Council agreed to

A)       Ask officers to share the general feedback received from young people during the Task & Finish Group’s work with local authorities and educational providers so they can take this into account when providing their services.

B)       Ask officers to write to Village Colleges and other secondary schools in South Cambridgeshire to offer the opportunity to present to them on the elections process and ask if we can further support their curriculum.

C)       Note the successful youth engagement programme currently run by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service and supports the provision of appropriate coaching to enable officers in other priority areas such as housing and local business to find ways of similarly involving young people.

D)       Ask officers to investigate the feasibility of holding, within the next 12 months, a scheduled meeting of the Climate and Environment Advisory Committee at a local educational establishment, to which students and other young people should be invited.

E)        Ask the Leader to write a letter to the Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority highlighting the feedback from young people on the limitations of public transport and urging him to take into account their views when developing proposals for bus franchising.

F)        Invite young people, including from the groups approached as part of the Task & Finish exercise (Appendix 1), to contribute evidence to officers involved in developing a new Equality Policy embracing generational differences.

G)       Encourage all Members of South Cambridgeshire District Council to commit to engaging with young people and representative organisations in their wards by establishing regular visits to local schools, colleges, youth clubs and other locations as appropriate.