Agenda item

The Committee received for consideration the Carmarthenshire Youth Support Service’s Business Plan 2016-17, being the first to be developed following the merger on the 1^st January, 2016 of the Carmarthenshire Youth Service and the Carmarthenshire Youth Offending Service under one single management structure. That merger, allowed for the development of a more holistic approach to the delivery of youth support services across the County to provide a robust range of support from open access to specialised support to enable children, young people and young adults (aged 8-25) to fulfil their full personal, social and educational potential.

The following questions/observations were raised on the report:

·         In response to a question on the provision of youth clubs, and to where they sat within the overall Youth Support Service, the Committee was advised that the Service, as an entity, was divided into 4 distinct teams comprising Universal Support, Targeted Youth Support, Targeted Youth Support 8-18yrs and Youth Justice. The Youth Club Service lay within the remit of the Universal Support Team which directly operated 9 youth clubs, whilst also providing support for Dr M’s in Carmarthen together with three Urdd Clubs within the County.

·         In noting the above, views were expressed that the report made no reference to the role Young Farmer’s Clubs and other voluntary clubs played within the County and that the importance of that role should not be overlooked. Disappointment was also expressed that the Council did not have a dedicated officer working with, and supporting the valuable work undertaken by the Young Farmer Movement which, included working with schools to help young people develop skills and gain employment.

The Director of Education and Children’s Services welcomed the emphasis being placed on a universal service provision together with the external funding that brought. He advised that with regard to the Council’s investment in the service that was being used to drive provision to those in greatest need of support rather than investing in universal support, as reflected nationally. However, he advised that the Council’s core budget funding of the youth service at 31% of the local government revenue settlement for youth services was the lowest of all Welsh authorities, with the Welsh average being 73%. Notwithstanding that differential, the Council still provided a high degree of service within the available resources and, if funding were to increase to the national average significantly more could be achieved.

The Principal Manager – Youth Support Services advised that following the Committee’s meeting on the 14^th April, 2016 (minute 7 refers) where it had resolved for” officers to make concerted efforts to strengthen the links between the Authority and the YFC network in the County” discussions had been held with the Carmarthen YFC to discuss what the authority could do, in the absence of adequate resources, to strengthen those links. Further meetings were also planned to take place with the YFC.

·         In response to a question relating to the issue of child mental health, the Principal Manager – Youth Support Services confirmed that the emotional mental health of children was critical to their development and the service worked closely with Children Mental Health Services to ensure young people could access services when needed. The service also worked with schools to target young people who appeared to be in need of help, and endeavoured to ensure any issues were identified as early as possible to help young people access the services they required.

·         Reference was made to the 1.1% funding cut to the Youth Support Service for 2016/17 equating to £25,510 and information was requested on its impact or, otherwise, on service delivery.

The Principal Manager – Youth Support Services advised that the funding reduction had necessitated careful planning and whilst the service received funding from a number of external sources/partners the reduction had meant that a number of vacancies had not been filled, thereby limiting its universal provision whilst still spreading available resources as widely as possible.

The Director of Education and Children Services advised that the Youth Service had undergone significant restructuring over the previous two years with the main aim of reducing management costs to protect front line services resulting in savings of between £250 and £300k.

·         With regard to the delivery of the Youth Justice Service, reference was made to the issue of criminality, and its prevention, and to what avenues were available to achieve that objective?

The Principal Manager – Youth Support Services advised that initially all children identified as being at risk of potentially falling into criminality received an assessment covering a wide range of factors including family life, education, hobbies/interests etc. Once completed, a target plan would be provided tailored to the individual’s needs which could include working with schools, the provision of holiday programmes and also working with other agencies such as the police and fire services to provide the children with experiences of working life to help them learn to manage their lives.

The Director Education and Children Services advised that one of the biggest challenges/obstacles facing the department providing service delivery was that of funding. The loss of EU funding over the previous 18 months had resulted in a number of staff redundancies which, to some degree had been offset by the Cynnydd project having received funding and appointed staff. He stressed that the lack of resources meant the work undertaken by the service had to be channelled to those most in need, and it was difficult for the Council to increase funding for the service when set against reducing income and increasing demand for service delivery across a wide range of services. Nevertheless, good service provision was being achieved within the limited resources.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.