Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from any members of the Committee.

Apologies for absence were received from Paul O'Donnell (Voting Parent Governor Representative), Josephine Copeland (Non-voting Teacher representative) and Elaine Jones (Voting Diocesan Representative (Catholic Diocese)).

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2023 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on the 27 June 2023 were approved as an accurate record.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

For the Sub-Committee to receive a verbal update on RAAC in the Borough from the Director of Education.

The Director of Education introduced the item and explained that all Local Authority Maintained school buildings in the borough had been RAAC surveyed, and no issues related to RAAC had been identified. The Council were in contact with all Academies and none had reported issues. The Chair thanked the Director of Education for their update and for keeping the Sub-Committee informed.

For the Sub-Committee to review the forthcoming Youth Justice Plan 23/24, before reporting to Cabinet and Council, alongside the Youth Safety Delivery Plan report from Cabinet on 27^th September 2023, and to provide any comments or recommendations.

The Sub-Committee considered a paper set out on pages 17 to 146 of the agenda, which provided the Youth Justice Plan 23/24, which forms a part of the Council’s Budget and Policy Framework, and the Youth Safety Delivery Plan, which was approved at Cabinet in September 2023. Both reports were provided to the Sub-Committee under a single item as they had been developed in close collaboration. The Director of Children’s Social Care and the Head of the Violence Reduction Network introduced the item and summarised the reports.

Youth Justice Plan 23/24

The Sub-Committee asked what learning from previous the Youth Justice Plan had been incorporated into the development of this iteration. The Service Manager for the Youth Justice Service & Youth Engagement Team explained that the report outlined the previous Plan, and included a column explaining the progress made on a number of defined areas, as well as where there were areas of continuing work.

Members noted that the female cohort was low, but increasing, and asked why this was, what the reference to ‘unique vulnerabilities’ meant in the report, and what was being done to address these. The Service Manager for the Youth Justice Service & Youth Engagement Team explained that the unique vulnerabilities were around sexual exploitation, and the carrying of weapons and drugs. It was explained that there had been some bespoke work undertaken with girls, where the service had intelligence, and bids had been submitted for additional funding to ensure programmes were fit for purpose and multifaceted to meet needs around these risks. The Service Manager for the Youth Justice Service & Youth Engagement Team stated that there was good joint working with Children’s Social Care to ensure that discussions around the female cohort were taking place at the Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) Complex Adolescents Panel (CAP).

The Sub-Committee heard that it was hard to identify why this cohort was increasing, as individuals entered the service from the police and the Court system, but potential factors were better intelligence and increased exposure to the police from more targeted operations. The Sub-Committee clarified with the Service Manager for the Youth Justice Service & Youth Engagement Team that there was potentially an increase in detection for the female cohort as a result of new ways of working being undertaken by the police against historic underreporting for this group. The Corporate Director of Children, Young People & Education (CYPE) explained that partners had done substantial collaborative work around the vulnerabilities of young women, and agreed that it was likely multiagency responses to this cohort had improved which had resulted in better detection rates.

Members asked for some examples of the kind of work the service was doing to engage with these young women. The Service Manager for the Youth Justice Service & Youth Engagement Team explained that, once an individual had been identified, a partnership panel would discuss their presenting needs, where they frequented in the borough, and their education and home life. The service tried to deliver a programme based around activities, future aspirations,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44/23

The Sub-Committee is asked to:

a)    Note the draft work programme for 2023-24, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

b)    Consider whether there are any changes to the work programme that should be considered.

The Sub-Committee noted the report.

It was highlighted that the dates in Appendix A from January onwards needed to be amended from ‘2023’ to ‘2024’.

As discussed in the previous item, the Sub-Committee concluded that it would include the Youth Justice Plan 24/25 on its Work Programme for consideration early in the next financial year.