Agenda item

The Policy and Equalities Officer introduced this report and presentation on the Young People at Risk Strategy (YPRS), which set out the scale and nature of serious youth violence in Haringey, outlined a strategic model to address risk, set the direction and priorities for medium-term activity to tackle serious youth violence, and detailed a set of short-term actions. 

The YPRS reflected the Council’s overarching aim to reduce and prevent crime amongst young people. Haringey had seen improvements on its knife crime figures but it was accepted too many young people were affected by violent crime within the borough which this strategy sought to address. The YPRS set out how the Council would seek to address such violence and the outcomes it sought to be achieved over a 10-year period. The strategy had been informed by robust evidence, taking into account local and national data, as well as international learning.

The Council had commissioned the Godwin Lawson Foundation to do a piece of research which involved talking to 70 of the most vulnerable young people in Tottenham and getting their views on what they felt the Council could do to assist the problem. There had also been an analysis undertaken of prolific offenders within the Youth Justice System to find out their life experiences and previous dealings with services.

The Council’s vision was for young people to grow up in a safe environment, free from violence. The Council was looking to work collaboratively with its partners and the community to achieve this goal.

The Chair thanked Hugh Smith for the thorough presentation and invited questions and comments from the Board members. The following was noted:

• Regarding the reduction in youth violence across the borough, the Head of Community Safety and Enforcement stated this was due to a range of actions the Council had taken, such as working closely with key partners across the community, including Tottenham Hotspur, and utilising available resources. Better statistics were available from across the borough which allowed the Council to better focus resources in targeted areas to have the greatest impact. Such efforts had seen a reduction in the number of stab victims under 25. Initiatives such as ‘Litter Sweeps’ saw the Council request communities inform it where they suspected young people were storing weapons and then clearing those areas of any weapons. There were projects in place at Northumberland Park that sought to tackle and assist the mental health of young people. The Council maintained a consistent and concise message of working collaboratively with partnered organisations to jointly facilitate the reduction in youth violence to have the furthest reach as possible. Young people were also being consulted on their views regarding matters such as what they felt the best type of intervention the Council was able to provide.
• There was a degree of overlap between Local Area Co-ordinators and Community Safety Advocates, such as in Northumberland Park, but they worked closely together to find the most effective ways to help communities. Where possible, initiatives were joined to ensure a coherent narrative and that different sectors were working together in a collaborative way.
• The Director of Children’s Services stated it was important for the different services within the Council to support one another as a whole system approach, across children and adult services. Both services were working together on initiatives described by the Head of Enforcement and Community Safety to ensure the greatest outcome was achieved.
• The Chief Executive of Whittington Health stated the priorities and interventions proposed within the YPRS were sensible. The Board members would also be able to assist with the engagement of children and young people as all were testing different types of engagement at their organisations and could provide feedback on their results. It was important that the various organisations represented at the Health and Wellbeing Board supported their staff in making them aware of the issue of youth violence and informed them of the effective ways in which to tackle them. In response, the Head of Enforcement and Community Safety stated a summary and shortened version of the YPRS could be circulated to all staff members.
• The Chair of Healthwatch Haringey questioned the absence of the arts and culture in the YPRS, noting a cultural strategy should be developed to create effective diversionary activities to keep young people away from violence. The arts and its usage in media was also highlighted as being a key route to getting messages across to young people. The Assistant Director of Commissioning acknowledged the key role arts and culture played in helping to deter young people from violence but noted the YPRS did not include all initiatives. Funding was available to support the arts and music. There was also a commitment within the YPRS to work with groups within the voluntary sector, with some providing arts and music arrangements for young people. 
• The Chief Executive of the Bridge Renewal Trust welcomed the emphasis on partnership working but queried whether the YPRS was prioritising and targeting too much. It was also noted the YPRS could borrow from the Borough Plan and the partner work it had put in place. The Chief Executive concurred with the view that increased activities for young people to engage with was a key preventative measure.
• The Director of Adults and Health noted the Council had been encouraged to take a different approach to safeguarding and the YPRS reflected that. The YPRS was a positive change in how the Council approached risk with people who did not necessarily meet the statutory requirements of Council services.

RESOLVED

That the Health and Wellbeing Board:

1. Consider the content of the Young People at Risk Strategy
2. Note the particular relevance of Outcome 2, ‘Strong Families and Healthy Relationships’ and Outcome 3, ‘Positive Mental Health’, to members of the Health and Wellbeing Board
3. Comment on the content, noting the need for health partner input in relation to priorities and interventions to:

1.    Improve young people’s mental health,

2.    Improve family functioning,

3.    Help young people form healthy peer relationships,

4.    Meet the needs of young people with SEND

4. Consider the roles of board members with respect to the overall collective effort to reduce and prevent serious youth violence, in particular:

1.    Early identification of individual or family risk

2.    Interventions to increase safety in healthcare settings

3.    Interventions to address risky behaviours such as substance use

4.    Support for victims of serious youth violence

5. Recommend how the roles of board members, with respect to reducing youth violence, can be articulated in the strategy