Minutes:
The Panel received a short introduction from the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety and Engagement followed by a question and answer session on issues within his portfolio. The following key points were noted in relation to the discussion of this item.
a. The Cabinet Member advised that schools had been badly affected by budget cuts and that this had a particularly acute impact on pastoral care, including after-school clubs. The Cabinet Member contended that this had played a part in some of the wider issues discussed such as surge of exclusions and some of the other factors affecting the criminalisation of children. The Panel noted that criminal gangs were the main perpetrators of the criminalisation of children and the Cabinet Member suggested that the scale of the problem was not widely understood, with County Lines criminal activities worth around £500m a year. The Cabinet Member advised that he was looking to set up a round-table seminar with key partners on the issue of criminalisation and agreed to invite panel members to the meeting. (Action: Cllr Mark Blake).
b. The Committee requested that a separate meeting be established to go through the Council’s Youth at Risk Strategy in detail. (Action: Chair/Clerk).
c. The Committee sought assurance about what activities were being undertaken at a local level, particularly given that the Council had just agreed its Youth and Risk Strategy. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that the administration was looking to establish a hub in Wood Green which would include the involvement of a detached youth work team as part of the Haringey Community Gold programme. The Cabinet Member also emphasised the role of partners working in specific areas and localities. £100k had been ring-fenced for the retention of the summer clubs programme from last year. There were also a number of lessons learnt from that process, including working with Fusion to reduce entry costs. Conversations had also taken place with HfH around what more could be done on estates. The Cabinet Member emphasised that a lot of the detail was being pulled together and that further progress would be made once the detached youth work team was in place.
d. In response to further questions, officers advised that the Youth at Risk Strategy was a ten year strategy with a four year action plan and included a public health approach to work right across the system. Officers commented that it was a co-produced strategy that had been developed in conjunction with young people, practitioners and parents. Officers acknowledged that one of the key outcomes from discussions with the community was a lack of trust in institutions and that one of the responses required was to be better at signposting services to the community. The Panel was advised that the Young Londoners Fund would see 2000 people go through the system over a three year period and was awarded to Haringey in refection of the strength of some of the proposals outlined.
e. The Cabinet Member advised that he would come back to the Panel during its summer meeting with a further update in relation to the Youth at Risk Strategy. (Action: Cllr M. Blake).
f. The Panel sought clarification around how the proposals outlined differed from previous proposals for a youth zone in Wood Green and what was being done to overcome the postcode issue. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that the Youth Zone was sold as borough-wide provision but was located in an inaccessible part of Woodside ward in which young people would be unwilling to travel to. The Panel was advised that the youth hub in Wood Green was far more accessible and it was anticipated that in the future, as part of the Young People at Risk Strategy, there would be specific allocation of resources for youth hubs across different parts of the Borough. Panel Members requested some further conversations with the Cabinet Member about how to develop some of those resource opportunities in their own wards. Members also requested the opportunity to attend a walkabout with the Cabinet Member. (Action: Cllr M. Blake).
g. Officers advised the panel that they were in discussion with community organisations to identify suitable locations in different parts of the borough. Officers further emphasised that there was a definite need for a hub in Wood Green as the first step.
h. The Chair acknowledged that this was an issue that Members felt strongly about and set out the need for a detailed discussion on the Youth at Risk Strategy. The Panel agreed that an all-Member briefing session should be set up to encourage a wider conversation on the subject. Officers agreed to set this up as quickly as possible. (Action: Clerk/Eubert Malcolm).