Issue - meetings

(Leisure & Community Services Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-029-2017/18).

(1)        That a District Development Fund bid in the sum of £8,000 be made to enable the Epping Forest Youth Council to deliver targeted projects during 2018/19, including the MiLife emotional health & wellbeing programme, refresher workshops and assemblies in all local secondary schools within the District.

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Community Services presented a report on the Youth Council Project Budget for 2018/19.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that one of the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Task & Finish Review of Youth Engagement in 2015/16 was that the Youth Council be granted £8,000 project funding from the District Development Fund, for the purpose of providing targeted project work for young people in the District and that this opportunity of securing funding would be available in subsequent years. In 2016/17, this initial funding was used for the development of an adolescent mental and emotional health and wellbeing project, which was designed around concerns raised by local young people.

The Portfolio Holder stated that this project, which was named MiLife, had been very successful since it was introduced and had actively helped 328 pupils to receive support following their attendance at a MiLife session in their school over the last year. It’s success had also been highlighted by health colleagues across Essex; so much so, that the project was now available through a website, to enable it to be of benefit to other schools across Essex. In its first year, MiLife was nominated for the National Crime Beat Awards by the High Sheriff of Essex at that time, Lorna Rolfe and the project was due for further nomination in 2018 by the new High Sheriff, Simon Hall, after he attended a Youth Council presentation about the project.

The Portfolio Holder requested the Cabinet to agree further funding to enable MiLife to be rolled out to all new Year 7 students in local schools, to provide refresher assemblies to young people who had already attended a session and delivery of MiLife lunchtime sessions in all schools. In addition, the funding would support the roll out of the Primary School MiLife programme, which had recently been developed with the support of Public Health Funding.

The Cabinet felt that this was an excellent scheme that should be fully supported, and the Leader of Council commented that it was good to see the Youth Council engaging with the other elements of the Council.

Decision:

(1)        That a District Development Fund bid in the sum of £8,000 be made to enable the Epping Forest Youth Council to deliver targeted projects during 2018/19, including the MiLife emotional health & wellbeing programme, refresher workshops and assemblies in all local secondary schools within the District.

Reasons for Decision:

To comply with the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Task and Finish Review of Youth Engagement in 2015/16, that £8,000 project funding be available from the District Development Fund for the Youth Council to bid for to develop and deliver activities and events for young people.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not provide any funding for Youth Council project work, or to reduce the amount of funding allocated; however, if funding was reduced then it would not be possible to provide MiLife work in local schools.