Issue - meetings

1.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR CHAMBERS-DUBUS

This council believes that young people are important and recognises the positive contribution that young people make to the city.

Young people have ideas, views and opinions about things that affect their lives, their communities and their city.

Young people have a contribution to make to the life and development of the city and whilst there have been some initiatives in recent years there is currently no process or structure that enables the council to communicate and understand the views that young people have.

It is therefore time to revisit and review this important issue. 

Council therefore resolves to:

·     Review the processes and methods it uses to engage, involve and consult with young people.

·     Request that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee set up a task and finish group to consider how the council engages with young people.

·     Actively involve young people in this process.

·     Make a report and recommendations to cabinet about how to engage and communicate with young people in future.

2.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR A. CHAMBERS

“This Council recognises that the illegal use of knives among young people is increasing and that increases the risk to our communities and impacts the future of our City.

This Council supports our colleagues in the police and their efforts to increase neighbourhood policing and offers assistance in any way we can. Local policing and our system working together effectively is the only way to avoid this growing issue becoming a bigger threat to us all. We are committed to working alongside the PCC to develop plans to tackle knife crime and address the issues affecting our young people which leads them to need to carry a knife, or into gang culture. Prevention is our greatest weapon.

This council commits to asking the Stronger Safer Gloucester Partnership to support the creation of a group focusing on the issue of knife crime and working together to tackle it, by learning from incidents, involving residents and young people and looking for solutions which will make a difference. It shall develop and instigate plans to adopt a public health approach to the issue of knife crime, as demonstrated elsewhere in the UK. This will see emphasis on collective responsibility for statutory services, focus on whole populations, not just high risk individuals, emphasise on prevention and getting “upstream”, concern for tackling underlying inequalities. It will require a system wide, multidisciplinary approach, including business and partnership with the community.

The results of this work will be reported to Cabinet and to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee if requested.”

3.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR WILLIAMS

“Drink Spiking has seen a significant rise within recent months and Gloucestershire Police has had in excess of 100 reports made since July 2021, and in response they have become the first police force to introduce the use of drugs testing machines as part of a newly launched anti-drink spiking campaign, Operation Nightingale.

Gloucester’s Night Time Economy partnership Nightsafe works with the police to adopt a zero tolerance approach  ...  view the full agenda text for item 70