The Children and Young People Policy Development Committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 24 May 2023 to discuss future themes for consideration and to review administrative procedures. The meeting's agenda included a presentation on child and young people's themes, the development of templates for tracking actions and member attendance, and the election of a Chair and Vice Chair for the upcoming municipal year.

Discussion and Agreement of Themes for Consideration during 2023/24

The committee was scheduled to consider themes for the upcoming year, with a presentation on child and young people's themes planned. Councillor Saima (Syeda) Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, was expected to contribute to this discussion. Additionally, the committee was to review draft templates for recording outstanding actions from previous meetings and for tracking member attendance. These templates were intended to be updated at each subsequent meeting.

Committee Administration

The meeting's agenda also included procedural items such as the election of a Chair and Vice Chair for the 2023/24 municipal year. Apologies for absence and declarations of substitutes were to be noted. Members were reminded of the requirement to declare any interests in matters on the agenda. A period was allocated for public participation, allowing members of the public to make statements or ask questions related to substantive agenda items. An update from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was also listed, though it was noted that there were no updates for this particular meeting as the Overview Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet later in June.

The committee's terms of reference outline its purpose as considering how policy could be improved based on evidence and data, and conveying these learnings to the decision-making entity. The Children and Young People Policy Development Committee specifically aims to address the mental health and life chances of young people, and to give them a greater voice, with an aspiration to achieve Unicef Child Friendly status by 2025. The committee is also intended to receive presentations from young persons, including the Youth Council.

The report pack for the meeting can be found here. The agenda frontsheet is available here.