Agenda item

Report of Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities 

The Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities began by giving special thanks to all No Child Left Behind partners, the St Giles Trust, schools in Cheltenham, and young people, for their dedication and hard work to date in supporting the NCLB Year of Youth Action.  She also thanked officers for their report which sets out clear recommendations based on the common themes identified by the 578 responses to the youth survey, in addition to the areas where we and our partners are already focussing, including engagement and inclusion, safety in the communities,  recreation and opportunities,  mental health and wellbeing, and digital safety and literacy.

She said the report confirmed that parents and extended family members are the most trusted sources of support for young people, but while every child deserves to feel safe and heard, it was sad to note that only 18% feel they are listened to, with many concerns around safety, both on line, in their communities, and in the town centre. 

As part of the Year of Youth Action, the views of young people will help us understand what needs to be done to support the lives and outcomes of next generation. A lot of youth-led initiatives are already being worked on by the council and its partners, including  support for a youth-led change maker initiative; police drops-ins aimed at supporting young people; together with NCLB partners and GCC, raising awareness of online safety for parents via local schools; safe haven pilots in race weeks; making sure young voices are heard to inform the narrative of future iterations of the council’s culture and sports strategy; working with partners and businesses to develop a Cheltenham Youth Pass; establishing an NCLB Youth Voice sub-group to explore funding initiatives to help young people improve safety and recreation in their local parks; and working together to better understand children’s mental health challenges.

The report is insightful, detailing all work carried out to date over past few years.  A final report will be brought back to Cabinet in December, and in the meantime, Members’ views were welcome.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services said young people have a right to feel safe in the town and know that help is available if they need it; it is the sadness of the report that so many do not feel that this is the case, yet a great thing that this has been recognised and that as a local authority, we are listening, looking, learning and taking action.  She said officers have done an excellent job, working with partners across the town – including schools, the police, the Chamber of Commerce, BID and other local organisations.  In March, she will present this work at the Congress of Europe, which is made up of amazing organisations encompassing the whole of Europe, and she is confident that the work being done at CBC will be a pilot study for all those organisations. 

She thanked the Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities, Tracey Birkinshaw, Kelly Patterson, and everyone involved from the university to BID, whose work will make a huge difference to the future of young people and the future of the town. 

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Public Realm thanked the Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities and officers, and welcomed the project which originated from a motion he put forward with former Councillor Chidley.  The report highlights ways to support young people, engage with them, and look for long-term solutions.  He is particularly glad to be involved in helping to make the town’s parks and gardens safer after dark, and said that the whole project is really positive, demonstrating that the council cares for everyone and does its best to listen to all its residents.

The Cabinet Member for Major Development and Housing Delivery agreed, welcoming NCLB’s positive journey over the past decade.  He said Members recognise its value, and while it is not unusual for young people to worry about the future, it is good that the council is listening to those worries and acting upon them.  He thanked all those involved in this trail-blazing journey.

RESOLVED THAT: 

1.    the update on progress made to date by No Child Left Behind - set out in Section 3 of the report - is noted;

2.    the outcome from recent engagement with young people (see Section 4 and Appendix 4 – “In their own words – youth survey report”) is noted;

3.    the work ahead to support the NCLB Year of Youth Action – see Section 5 of the report – is endorsed;

4.    the principles of the national Hear by Right are endorsed, and completion of a self-assessment is agreed (see Section 6).