Scrutiny board reveals Calderdale Council's Youth Services has 'lost its way'

A report put together by a panel of some Calderdale Council Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Board members, concluded the service had lost its way and needed a clear strategy and a new direction.

The service needed to make better use of the money it spent on staff, should reduce expenditure on casual staff and contracts for a few hours a week and adopt a more efficient approach to its use of buildings.

The Orangebox centre in Halifax was an asset for all of Calderdale, should be well used all week and needed to provide effective services for children throughout the borough which would improve their lives – better use of transport services should ensure this was not a barrier to participation.

But a locality focus needed to be retained where youth workers could partner well with other organisations including the council’s Neighbourhood Officers, the Police and other agencies, as well as local councillors.

The service should present an annual report to the board and to the Crime and Disorder Partnership to give the service partnership oversight, council youth workers should take a targeted approach to those in need with universal services commissioned from community and voluntary organisations, and the service should consider employing a dedicated social media officer to promote services in media young people themselves used and understood.

A review should be independently led, said the report, authored cross-party by Board Chair Coun Colin Raistrick (Ind, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe), Coun Anne Collins (Lab, Ovenden),

Coun Sarah Courtney (Lab, Calder) and Coun Amanda Parsons-Hulse (Lib Dem, Warley).

Cabinet member for Children and Young People’s Services, Coun Adam Wilkinson (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) said it was an excellent piece of work by the scrutiny board and raised some challenges.

“It is quite critical in some comments but entirely justified in its findings,” he said.

The only issue he had with the report was a recommendation for an independently-led review as he felt this would cause delay.

Coun Raistrick told Cabinet it was important to say the report was not critical about any of the staff or indeed the work ethic.

The panel took a great deal from people out in the locality to get a different perspective, hence the recommendation for independent input, he said.

Cabinet Chair and Leader of the Council, Coun Tim Swift (Lab, Town) said the result of the report would be effective proposals on how youth services will change.

In December when board members made their final comments before the report went to Cabinet, Coun Collins said: “We hope officers will look at the service we provide and hope we get more money promised to us by Government to meet the needs across the whole of the authority.

“But we need to admit there are real difficulties in that service.

“Some of that is not the fault of the staff but trying to do too much with too little, not meeting children’s needs.”

And Coun Raistrick added: “The staff are well motivated and working hard – but it’s a scattergun approach.”