Motion proposed and seconded:

This Council adopts the following pledge:

Our pledge to Manchester’s children and young people and to their families

Keeping children and young people safe is one of the most important things we do as a Council.  Today, following the publication of the Greater Manchester Report into Operation Augusta, we publicly affirm our commitment, as Councillors, to do all we can to keep vulnerable children safe.

We therefore solemnly and collectively make the following pledge, which all councillors will individually sign:

1. We will support the victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation and abuse and make sure that our Council’s services give them the help and protection they need and deserve.

2. We will ensure that our Council’s services work closely with the Police so that offenders are prosecuted wherever possible, and so that the justice that was denied 15 years ago can now be fully sought

3. We will always put children’s welfare first. We will take our duties as Councillors and Corporate Parents seriously and be persistent in scrutinising, challenging and supporting our Children’s Services, to make sure they are the best they can be. We will act through Children and Young Persons Scrutiny, through our Corporate Parenting Panel, through Regulation 44 visits and we will share any information or intelligence as soon as possible.

4. We will undertake safeguarding training, so that we understand our statutory responsibilities as Councillors and know how to ask the right questions.

5. We recognise that the sexual exploitation and abuse of children is not something we can ever claim to have stamped out. It will keep coming back in different forms. We will therefore work to counter it within our communities and with our council officers and partner agencies so that changing forms of child sexual exploitation are identified, investigated, disrupted and prosecuted.

By signing this pledge, we are committing ourselves as Councillor to fulfil our safeguarding and corporate parenting responsibilities and we are committing our Council to fully support victims, seek prosecution of offenders and constantly challenge itself to improve the quality of the support services it provides for vulnerable children and young people.

Resolution

The motion was put to Council and voted on and the Lord Mayor declared that is was carried unanimously.

Decision

This Council adopts the following pledge:

Our pledge to Manchester’s children and young people and to their families

Keeping children and young people safe is one of the most important things we do as a Council. Today, following the publication of the Greater Manchester Report into Operation Augusta, we publicly affirm our commitment, as Councillors, to do all we can to keep vulnerable children safe.

We therefore solemnly and collectively make the following pledge, which all councillors will individually sign:

1. We will support the victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation and abuse and make sure that our Council’s services give them the help and protection they need and deserve.

2. We will ensure that our Council’s services work closely with the Police so that offenders are prosecuted wherever possible, and so that the justice that was denied 15 years ago can now be fully sought

3. We will always put children’s welfare first. We will take our duties as Councillors and Corporate Parents seriously and be persistent in scrutinising, challenging and supporting our Children’s Services, to make sure they are the best they can be. We will act through Children and Young Persons Scrutiny, through our Corporate Parenting Panel, through Regulation 44 visits and we will share any information or intelligence as soon as possible.

4. We will undertake safeguarding training, so that we understand our statutory responsibilities as Councillors and know how to ask the right questions.

5. We recognise that the sexual exploitation and abuse of children is not something we can ever claim to have stamped out. It will keep coming back in different forms. We will therefore work to counter it within our communities and with our council officers and partner agencies so that changing forms of child sexual exploitation are identified, investigated, disrupted and prosecuted.

By signing this pledge, we are committing ourselves as Councillor to fulfil our safeguarding and corporate parenting responsibilities and we are committing our Council to fully support victims, seek prosecution of offenders and constantly challenge itself to improve the quality of the support services it provides for vulnerable children and young people.

(The Lord Mayor adjourned the meeting at this point for ten minutes and resumed the meeting at 11:00am)