RESOLVED:

That Cabinet recommends the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) 2019-23 for adoption by the Council at its meeting on 18 September 2019.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services introduced the item which set out the refreshed Children and Young People’s Plan for 2019-23.  She gave some background to the work of the Merton’s Children’s Trust, which brought together partners across the Borough to set joint priorities for Merton’s children and young people.  It was felt that the consultation on and construction of the Plan for the next four years should be led by young residents and Young Inspectors to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to the young residents.  It would also be those young residents who would be scrutinising the action plan and holding the Council accountable for progress against the actions.  The Cabinet Member thanked the Youth Participation team and all the young people involved in producing the Plan.

At the invitation of the Chair one of the Young Inspectors, Martin Miranda-Antelo, addressed the Cabinet and talked about the process for consulting on and constructing the Plan.  The young people had worked collaboratively with the Policy and Partnerships team and the Children’s Trust, and the Plan had been reduced from 64 to 13 pages to make it more accessible to young people.  A Borough-wide consultation had taken place with schools and the Merton Youth Parliament giving them an opportunity to voice their concerns and aspirations and comment on the draft plan before presenting it to the Children’s Trust Board for consideration.  Martin thanked the Cabinet Member and the officers involved for their support in the construction of the Plan.

The Director of Children, Schools and Families advised that the detailed action plan, to be appended to the Plan, would be considered at the Children’s Trust shortly.

The Cabinet welcomed the report and the important role that the young people had played in the consultation process.

The Chair thanked all those present for their contributions.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet recommends the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) 2019-23 for adoption by the Council at its meeting on 18 September 2019.