Content

Recommendations approved
 
Reasons for recommendations
An initial 3-year grant
agreement between Chorley Council and Inspire Youth Zone was made
in May 2018.  Since 2021 the agreement
has been extended on an annual basis. 
Post Covid-19 and as a result of a
Communities and Housing service review in 2024 the opportunity has
been taken to review the agreement and move to a three-year
agreement giving both Inspire Youth Zone and Chorley Council a
robust basis to work from.
 
The review of the agreement
also offered an opportunity to ensure that the agreed outcomes and
outputs (detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding) to be delivered
by Inspire Youth Zone still reflect the current priorities for
youth engagement work in the borough. 
 
Other
options considered and rejected
Option 1:  To continue renewing the agreement on an annual
basis.  This option was considered but
rejected because it creates an administrative burden on both the
council and Inspire Youth Zone to review and renew every
12-months.  This option did not allow
for any thorough review of service specification outcomes as annual
timescales would not be long enough to demonstrate
improvements.
 
 Option 2:  To renew the
agreement for a 5-year term.  This
option was considered but rejected as this length of agreement
would not allow both parties to review and respond quickly enough
to changes in how youth provision should be offered in
Chorley.
 
Option 3:  To not direct award a grant agreement to Inspire
Youth Zone for the building-based youth engagement work in
Chorley.  The option to work through a
new, full commissioning exercise was considered and rejected due to
the long-term relationship between Inspire Youth Zone and Chorley
Council to deliver the Youth Zone building on Chapel Street,
Chorley.  A direct award of this grant
to Inspire Youth Zone provides best value for money to Chorley
Council.