Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday, 6th November, 2019 10.00 am

Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension

Contact: Rachel McKeon 

Media

Items
No. Item

44.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 239 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 October 2019.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair informed the Committee that this was the last meeting for Ms Stepan, Mr Arogundade and Mr Lammas, due to their terms of office as Co-opted Members finishing, and thanked them for their contributions.

 

Decision

 

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 October 2019.

45.

Update on the Planned Manchester Healthy Weight Strategy to Tackle Obesity and Update on Progress in Delivering the Manchester Reducing Infant Mortality Strategy pdf icon PDF 639 KB

Report of the Director of Public Health / Population Health Consultant in Public Health

 

This report provides an overview of the health data for Manchester children in relation to childhood obesity and infant mortality.  Information is provided on the causes and impact of obesity and the work taking place to develop a Manchester Healthy Weight Strategy 2020-2025, which will take a whole system, partnership approach to tackling obesity in the city. The report includes an update on new service models being commissioned to reduce obesity in children and their families.  It also summarises the progress that has been made in delivering the Manchester Reducing Infant Mortality Strategy following its publication in March 2019.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of the Public Health/ Population Health Consultant in Public Health which provided an overview of the health data for Manchester children in relation to childhood obesity and infant mortality.  Information was provided on the causes and impact of obesity and the work taking place to develop a Manchester Healthy Weight Strategy 2020-2025, which would take a whole system, partnership approach to tackling obesity in the city. The report included an update on new service models being commissioned to reduce obesity in children and their families. It also summarised the progress that had been made in delivering the Manchester Reducing Infant Mortality Strategy following its publication in March 2019.

 

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:

 

·         Childhood obesity;

·         Measuring obesity in children;

·         Cause and impact of obesity;

·         Developing a new Healthy Weight Strategy to tackle obesity;

·         Commissioned Services - Healthy Weight;

·         Obesity and safeguarding;

·         Reducing infant mortality;

·         Patterns and trends in infant deaths;

·         Summary of Manchester Reducing Infant Mortality Strategy; and

·         Progress on delivering the Reducing Infant Mortality Strategy.

 

The Consultant in Public Health reported that there was an error in table 2 (Infant Mortality Data for 2018 - Manchester and England) under point 9.2 and clarified that the neonatal period was 0-28 days, not 7-28 days, as stated in the table.

 

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

 

·         What could be done to address the increase in obesity between reception and Year 6, noting that this was above the national average;

·         The impact of poverty and deprivation;

·         Reasons behind the increase in infant mortality;

·         Drinking during pregnancy and whether the Committee could consider Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder at a future meeting;

·         The impact of takeaways, particularly those close to schools, and whether there should be more regulation of this;

·         The impact of smoking on infant mortality; and

·         Why stillbirths were not included in the infant mortality figures.

 

The Consultant in Public Health advised the Committee that tackling child obesity required working not just in schools but also with families and in the community.  The Commissioning Manager (Starting Well) reported that the Population Health Team had reviewed their approach to tackling child obesity, advising that Public Health England had advocated a whole system approach.  The Consultant in Public Health explained that this involved a range of partners such as the Early Help Hubs, Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO) and Licensing working together to tackle obesity and advised that a workshop was being planned to bring different partners together to develop a shared approach.  The Manchester Healthy Weight Strategy Lead author informed Members that the Healthy Weight Strategy was due to be published in Spring 2020 and informed Members of the some of the other partners to be involved in this including businesses, transport and the Food Board.

 

The Commissioning Manager (Starting Well) reported that the Healthy Schools Team had a dedicated weight management project.  He advised that his service had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

46.

Ghyll Head Outdoor Education Centre pdf icon PDF 241 KB

Report of the Director of Education and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

 

This report sets out the work that has been undertaken to examine the option of progressing a new operating arrangement for Ghyll Head as part of the Council’s wider leisure contract.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of Education and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which set out the work that had been undertaken to examine the option of progressing a new operating arrangement for Ghyll Head as part of the Council’s wider leisure contract.

 

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:

 

·         Background information;

·         The current situation;

·         The capital proposal;

·         Controlling risk; and

·         Next steps.

 

Jeff Seneviratne outlined his involvement with Ghyll Head, including as a member of the Friends of Ghyll Head.  He emphasised the value of outdoor education and welcomed the work outlined in the report.  He noted the references in the report to the 50% occupancy rate at Ghyll Head and informed Members that it was unrealistic to expect a 100% occupancy rate because, for example, a school could book the house for one class which would not require all the beds.  He advised that the Council should consider how usage of the centre could best be measured.  He commented that he hoped the centre could be used to provide outdoor education not only to children but also to families to improve their health and well-being.

 

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

 

·         That Ghyll Head was a well-loved and valuable provision;

·         Members shared positive experiences of Ghyll Head from themselves, their family members and other Manchester residents, including Our Children (Looked After Children);

·         That the centre could also be used by families whose children were on the edge of care;

·         That, with capital investment, Ghyll Head could be marketed commercially, at a higher rate, at weekends;

·         Concern that some parents could not afford to send their children to Ghyll Head, while noting that some schools used their own funds to subsidise places;

·         The importance of not changing the ethos of the centre; and

·         That some schools did not use it.

 

The Director of Education reported that the intention for the future was that Ghyll Head would not be just a one-off positive experience but something that introduced children to an activity which they could then continue to take part in once they were back in Manchester, for example, at Debdale Outdoor Centre.  She confirmed that a number of schools did subsidise places at Ghyll Head for their pupils, advising that schools could use their Pupil Premium, money given to schools to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, on this.  The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure, Youth and Events) advised that the contracting arrangements would allow the Council to control the prices and protect prices for Manchester schools.  The Director of Education commented that some schools did take their pupils to other centres which also offered similar activities but that this investment would enable Ghyll Head to compete with them.

 

The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure, Youth and Events) reported that Ghyll Head did not currently have a dedicated website and that this was something that would need to be invested in in order for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

47.

Youth Strategy and Engagement pdf icon PDF 397 KB

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

 

This report provides a summary of Our Manchester Youth Offer Strategy which replaces the ‘Valuing Young People Strategy’ 2016-2019. It is the city’s multi-sector strategic framework jointly owned by Manchester City Council, its partners and stakeholders, all of  whom are responsible for making sure that young people have access to a high quality-driven youth offer that addresses both universal and targeted needs, which directly contributes to, and enables our young people to grow into responsible, independent and successful adults.

 

The Committee is invited to comment on the report prior to its submission to the Executive on 13 November 2019.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided a summary of the Our Manchester Youth Offer Strategy which replaced the Valuing Young People Strategy 2016 - 2019. It was the city’s multi-sector strategic framework jointly owned by Manchester City Council, its partners and stakeholders, all of whom were responsible for making sure that young people had access to a high quality-driven youth offer that addressed both universal and targeted needs and which directly contributed to and enabled young people to grow into responsible, independent and successful adults.  The Committee was invited to comment on the report prior to its submission to the Executive on 13 November 2019.

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

·         Our Manchester Youth Offer Strategy 2019 – 2025;

·         Workshops and engagement events;

·         Outcomes and success;

·         Strategy document production;

·         Delivery of the strategy; and

·         Next steps.

 

The Committee watched a video produced by Members of Manchester Youth Council (MYC).  The video included Youth Council Members talking about the MYC, its new election model and how MYC had helped to shape the Youth Strategy.

 

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

 

·         To thank the young people for their contribution;

·         To welcome the report;

·         That Stockton Council had adopted a similar approach which had been very effective, that they had developed an action plan from this work and that it would be useful to look at some of things they had done;

·         The importance of play provision;

·         To request demographic information on the young people accessing youth services, particularly the youth hubs, including by ward; and

·         The importance of universal youth services and of reaching out to young people who were not currently accessing youth services or communicating their views through MYC.

 

The Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure informed Members how MYC was being developed as a membership organisation which all young people could join and get involved in to different levels.  He advised that it was important for all young people to have a mechanism to raise any issues that concerned them and that the Council was creating a website through which any young person could raise an issue.

 

The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure, Events and Youth) agreed that play provision was important, informing Members that there were over 100 play areas in Manchester parks.  He reported that over the previous 12 months approximately £1.3 million had been invested in commissioning play activities across the city and it was hoped that this could be increased, with Young Manchester playing a key role in bringing in additional funding. 

 

The Head of Youth Strategy reported that Manchester had a higher level of youth engagement than other areas of the country, citing that 50.3% of Manchester young people had taken part in the Make Your Mark ballot, compared to 18.6% nationally, but that the Council wanted to improve this further.  She advised Members that her service was working to reach young people who did not currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

48.

Youth and Play Services - Young Manchester pdf icon PDF 387 KB

Report of the Director of Neighbourhoods

 

This report provides an overview on the progress of Young Manchester, an independent youth and play charity, and its contract with the Local Authority to commission the city’s Youth and Play Fund Programme.  It presents an update on progress made since the establishment of the fund in April 2018, focusing on outcomes for children and young people and the growth and development of the city’s youth and play sector.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of Neighbourhoods which provided an overview of the progress of Young Manchester, an independent youth and play charity, and its contract with the Council to commission the city’s Youth and Play Fund Programme. It presented an update on progress made since the establishment of the fund in April 2018, focusing on outcomes for children and young people and the growth and development of the city’s youth and play sector.

 

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:

 

·         Background to the Youth and Play Fund;

·         Impact and outcomes;

·         Feedback from children and young people;

·         Further investment in children and young people;

·         Building a national platform for Manchester; and

·         Youth and Play Fund 2020.

 

The Ward Councillor for Hulme welcomed what had been achieved despite the budget cuts.  She emphasised the importance of tackling knife crime and requested further information on the next commissioning round. 

 

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

 

·         The importance of universal youth services;

·         That a lack of facilities such as toilets and changing facilities in parks presented a barrier for parents and grandparents wanting to take children to the park, that better information could make people aware of facilities in park cafes but that, where available, these were still only open for limited hours;

·         How funding could be identified for work such as repairing swings in parks; and

·         How smaller organisations which did not have expertise in writing bids could be supported to obtain funding.

 

The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure, Events and Youth) informed Members about a new website which was being developed which would provide information on all youth and play services across the city and which would be integrated with the MCR Active website.  He advised Members that this would enable the Council and Young Manchester to have a better understanding on where there were gaps in provision.  The Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure outlined how this information would be gathered at a local level.

 

The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure, Events and Youth) reported that individual park plans were being developed for each park to identify the highest priority work that needed to be done in that park, following which sources of funding could be identified.  He advised Members that the Council was releasing £12.5 million to invest in its parks and that his service was looking at ways to reduce demand on the parks budget and to generate income.

 

Justin Watson from Young Manchester reported that part of his organisation’s role was as an infrastructure organisation, supporting organisations, particularly smaller community organisations, so that they were in a better position to access funding, not just from Young Manchester but from other sources.  He informed the Committee that Young Manchester had just launched the new Youth and Play Fund 2020 and he offered to share information on this with Members, as well as more details of the rationale for previous decisions which had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

49.

Overview Report pdf icon PDF 354 KB

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

 

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.

 

A Member asked for information on concealed pregnancy to be included in a future report.  Another Member noted that the Committee had requested a report on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder under an earlier agenda item.

 

Decision

 

To note the report and agree the work programme, subject to the above amendments.