Agenda item

The Mayor welcomed the newly elected Youth Councillors and congratulated their success in the recent youth elections. The new Youth Councillors signed a declaration that they would fulfil their duties to the best of their ability.

Question a) from Youth Councillor Iqra to Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz was asked by Youth Councillor Darey in Youth Councillor Iqra’s absence:

What can be done to further foster and embed a culture of respect in the borough, so that males, females, trans, gender variant and questioning young people can feel safe at school and in the work place, free from inappropriate behaviour and reassured that any concerns will be taken seriously by those in a position of power?

Reply:

Thank you for asking this incredibly important question. I absolutely agree with you, we need a culture of respect, so that all people regardless of their gender, race or religion feel safe at school and in the work place.

The Council is bound by law under the Equality Act to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation. The law also expects the same from the borough’s businesses, organisations, schools, colleges and universities.  Of course, we know that changing culture is a challenging and long process. We need to come together as a community, and foster relationships so we know that the concerns of all, but especially young people, are taken seriously. 

Islington has shown through the many things we are doing that the future of young people of all genders is important to us. I am very proud that my colleague Cllr Osh Gantly was one of the first openly trans elected representatives in the UK. Proving that Islington Labour is committed to making sure that trans people are politically represented.

The council has just adopted our ‘Supporting Trans Staff’ policy, where we outline ways staff can help to create an inclusive and supportive working environment, so that trans staff are able to work to their full potential. We provide training to managers and also have an LGBT Staff Forum that offers a safe place to discuss issues and get support and advice.

Every year this Council reflects on and draws attention to the continued transphobic violence endured by the transgender community. We mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance by flying the flag at the Town Hall, we mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia by wearing orange ribbons, we take part in LGBT History Month with a month-long annual observance of LGBT history, we work with the police and community groups to tackle hate crime, and we also have a zero tolerance approach to homophobic and transphobic bullying in our schools. We have also recently started Islington's Pride project, which is funded by the National Lottery, to create an LGBT archive. All of this work had led to Islington being chosen to host the UK’s first exhibition of transgender people of faith at Islington Museum.

We want to make sure we send a message to the community that hatred is not tolerated in this borough. That being said, there is always more to do, and I would welcome any ideas from youth councillors on how we can improve things for young people in the borough.

Question b) from Youth Councillor Mohamed to Councillor Richard Watts:

We recently organised a “Careers Expo”, working in partnership with a neighbouring youth council at Google’s UK HQ. Over 150 young people attended and signed up to a variety of masterclasses focusing on employability skills. What impact does Cllr Watts feel the Employment Commission has made 2 years on, particularly on the lives of young people?

Reply:

Thank you for your question. The first thing I would like to say is thank you to the Youth Council for organising the Careers Expo, and thank you for everything you have done over the past two years. You have all done a tremendous job.

I think the Employment Commission has made a big difference. Over the last few years we have created stronger links between schools and businesses; businesses are now volunteering in our schools and teaching young people employability skills; over 700 young people have received mentoring and support through the Mentoring Works programme; we have brokered Saturday jobs with local employers for young people.

Over 25 council teams are delivering Get Ready for Work events for young people, teachers and parents to speed network with employers offering real jobs; TED-style talks are being held, and networking events are being held with successful young entrepreneurs.

We are supporting young unemployed people back into work through initiatives like the Aspire 2017 programme. This is a week of activities focused on giving young people the opportunity to meet employers currently recruiting.

Since 2014 when the Employment Commission started, the council has helped 3,800 unemployed local people into work, including 1,000 young people. We have also brought together over 60 organisations to form a network of those working to provide jobs for local people. I think the Employment Commission has had a massive impact and I would like to thank you and your colleagues for the work you have done in this area.

Supplementary question:

Two years ago, the Youth Council asked a question about apprenticeships and how they are being advertised in schools. Since then, have you seen any changes to how apprenticeships are being advertised, and do you feel there could be any more improvement in this area?

Reply:

I’m sure there is more we could do, however, since then there have been changes to the council’s apprenticeship scheme. What used to happen is council apprenticeships would start throughout the year as and when departments needed to recruit; we changed that so in the main apprenticeships now start at the end of the school year, which means we are better able to target opportunities at school and college leavers. This has made a difference to the number of school and college leavers accessing apprenticeships, but I’m sure we can do more to improve advertising in our schools.

Question c) from Youth Councillor Tega to Councillor Joe Caluori was asked by Youth Councillor Chikamso in Youth Councillor Tega’s absence:

In September 2017, the Evening Standard printed an article stating that Londoners living in the borough of Islington find their lives the least worthwhile than almost anywhere else in the UK. How will the Fair Futures Commission help to change the lives of its young residents for the better?

Reply:

Thank you for your question. I saw that article too, but I think the headline was a bit misleading, because the survey also puts the happiness of our residents well ahead of those of neighbouring boroughs. But there is clearly a problem with how Islington is perceived; some people think that if you live in Islington you are rich, but we all know the reality is very different.  The reason why we introduced the Fairness Commission and the Employment Commission is because we all know that Islington is a very divided society in terms of wealth and opportunity.

It’s a tragedy that anyone would feel that their life lacks meaning or that it isn’t worthwhile, everyone is born equal and all life is precious. So what we want to do with the Fair Futures Commission is look at four barriers that stop young people having the best possible upbringing and the best possible future. Growing up in Islington, you should have the best childhood and adolescence available, there are support services and a range of activities, but there are clearly barriers that stop young people from accessing those things.

We’ve been through a long process with the Commission so far and the Youth Council has been integral to that. The recommendations are in draft form at the moment and will be available in the New Year, but as a sneak peek, the Commissioners have been talking about how we can give guarantees to young people on what they can expect from the council and our partners, how we can have a better focus on work experience and opportunities so we can recreate some of the social capital that wealthy families have and that other families don’t, and how we can make life skills and  preparation for adulthood a reality. It has also come through really clearly that young people want housing options that allow them to pursue education and work and stay in the borough; it’s so important that we keep our community together by providing them with that.

I do want to say in all sincerity that part of the reason why we wanted to set up the Commission in the first place is because, when the Youth Council came to a Children’s Partnership Board meeting, the whole meeting turned into a session led by yourselves on your perspective on what’s going on in the local area. That was one of a number of meetings where we realised that we need to look again at what we do, and better understand the perspective of young people. So thank you for your question and for your work.

Question d) from Youth Councillor Honey to Cllr Janet Burgess was asked by Youth Councillor Mohamed in Youth Councillor Honey’s absence:

It’s great that Islington is leading the next wave of projects funded by NHS Digital to get more young people using digital healthcare tools, with a focus on mental health. What support and help is there for young people who need to access help off-line, particularly those who are suffering from cyber bullying or would prefer to receive support face to face?

Reply:

Thank you for your question, it is very important that young people are able to access support.  The Digital Healthcare Programme of work is looking at how we can support children and young people’s mental health needs. It is important to give people the opportunity to use digital healthcare tools, and although it isn’t the only answer, young people in Islington were very clear that they wanted a range of interventions available that included face-to-face options as well as digital solutions.

There are a range of services currently available including the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services being delivered in all Islington schools alongside counselling and therapeutic services accessible through our youth hubs, Lift and Platform, which are delivered by Mind Connect and The Brandon Centre. Young people are also able to self-refer into our local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services based at the Northern Health Centre if they do not want to be seen in school or do not attend a local school.

We are planning to look at developing a single point of access to mental health services with a broader range of options available because we recognise that the preferred type of service and how a service is accessed varies greatly amongst young people. We currently are planning to build on the services we already have, both digital and face to face, so that we can meet young people’s needs. But none of these plans could have been put into place if young people did not tell us their needs and get involved in the conversation, so please keep letting us know because digital solutions are only one aspect of supporting young people to access better mental health services.