Council and democracy

Agenda item

Youth Cabinet Update

Minutes:

An update was provided by the Youth Cabinet Members who said they had been welcomed to judge the Civic Awards 2018 on the Lifelong Achievement. There had been some great stories which had been heart-warming.

 

In January, a few of the Youth Cabinet members had attended guidance meetings which had been insightful on how crime rates could be improved in Thurrock to ensure young people felt safe as a group. Referring to the recent ‘Make Your Mark’ and ‘Life Curriculum’ results, the surveys were completed and the results were due to be presented to headteachers in March 2018. The Youth Cabinet had also met with Transport Officer, John Pope and discussed incidences of children not receiving a child bus ticket despite wearing school uniform. Concerns had also been raised on blind spots around bus stops and schools.

 

Recently, the Youth Cabinet had met with Thurrock’s Chief Executive, Lyn Carpenter, who had given a talk on the future plans of Thurrock. The talk had been insightful as it outlined the Local Plan to build more houses and secondary schools in Purfleet and Stanford-Le-Hope which would make Thurrock more of a community.

 

Referring to children not being given bus tickets, the Chair asked what action had been taken. The Youth Cabinet member answered that they were waiting to hear back from John Pope but there had been no further incidents since. Councillor Redsell mentioned that she was part of the Bus User Group and would bring this up at the next meeting.

 

Councillor Spillman asked the Youth Cabinet members if any particular items had been brought up in their meeting with the Chief Executive and if they thought there was anything the Borough needed. The Youth Cabinet replied that there was the introduction of a possible Youth Mayor which would enable the young people to become more involved and better represented. Following up, Councillor Collins asked if there was anything the Youth Cabinet wanted to see physically in the Borough such as youth clubs. Youth Cabinet members would like more sporting clubs especially in regards to football teams. They gave an example of the Little Thurrock Dynamos football team who did not have a home ground. Councillor Redsell said Blackshots Field had training grounds which had recently been revamped along with a few others. The Chair asked Councillor Redsell if this was publicised enough to which she replied it was on the website and through Sports Council meetings.

 

Councillor Spillman mentioned a conversation with the Chief Executive of Aveley Football Club who had said there were less football clubs due to the lack of money and people willing to coach. There was a need to encourage more civic engagement and activities that young people could rely on. Councillor Redsell added that they raised a lot of money for sports without the Council’s help and that there were many ways to get funding as well. The CER also mentioned that Thurrock ran a volunteering scheme which was not publicised enough. The Chair asked Officers to check who ran the volunteer schemes and what could be done to help the Youth Cabinet.