WCC Decision take on future of Positive Activities
A decision was made by Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet on November 24 on how the County Council will support positive activities for young people starting from April 2012.
The council has a legal duty to secure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that qualifying young people (that's young people aged 13 to 19, rising to 20 to 24 for those with a learning disability) have access to positive leisure activities. It does not have to provide these activities directly.
The funding of positive activities for young people has been reviewed as part of the Council's £60-70 million BOLD savings programme and extensive consultation has taken place.
Proposals on how positive activities could be delivered in future were consulted on with over 2000 individuals this summer, including more than 1400 young people.
Cabinet has considered all the feedback from the consultation. Its final recommendations focus on withdrawing funding and spending less on buildings and management costs.
This will free-up over £1 million to be invested annually in the commissioning of positive activities by a body made up of local County Councillors and young people in each area, making savings of £1.4 million over 3 years in the process.
The county council will cease to directly provide positive activities by 2014. Instead, the £1 million funding will be allocated across local areas on a need/population formula of 70%/30%.
The commissioning framework encourages activities to be targeted in particular on reducing anti-social behaviour and supporting young people potentially or actually not in education, employment or training in the most appropriate way.
Investment will also be made in voluntary and community sector development to sustain positive activities for young people in a safe and appropriate manner. The actual approach will evolve with the Council's new infrastructure support arrangements which are currently out for consultation. An additional £150,000 will be retained by the County Council to be spent in local areas to meet any unforeseen needs that arise.
Cabinet also considered the future of youth support assets. Recommendations build on current partnership working with schools as well as the Council using buildings in a way that supports out of hours youth work.
While some larger high expense strategic buildings will close, for example in Redditch and Worcester City, the council is working with community groups to assist with the transition to alternative bases.
Councillor Liz Eyre, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Young People's Social Care, said: "This decision will see the council continuing to provide around £1 million annual investment in positive activities and importantly young people having an active role alongside county councillors deciding what activities are provided in their local area.
"We have worked hard to ensure where practicable that sustainable facilities are retained through non Council routes but there is more to do. Each area has a mix of solutions and the work will continue. An options appraisal will be undertaken at Rubery Youth Centre, looking at potential co-location to identify the most cost effective way of providing a single facility for library, youth and community use."
Officers will report recommendations to Cabinet specifically about Rubery Youth Centre in March 2012.
Notes:
· In Worcester City, the Worcester Community Trust will continue to provide positive activities until 31 March 2015. During that time a Worcester Positive Activities Local Commissioning Group (made up of local County Councillors and young people) will ensure that the Community Trust meets its contractual requirements and feed in recommendations to ensure all areas of need in Worcester are served.
· Officers at the County Council are also undertaking a feasibility study, informed by local views, on establishing a Trust to ensure the sustainability of the Ryland Centre, Bromsgrove, with the potential of it becoming a regional centre of excellence for disabled children and young people. Cabinet will consider the outcome of this feasibility study in March 2012.