OYC minutes – 29/05/2024

Consultation planning:

At the last priorities meeting, it was decided that there was no motion in the topics we chose originally as they are now.

We also do not know why young people chose them in the most recent Make Your Mark survey.

So, YCllrs split into 4 groups to plan a consultation for young people, in order to find out more.

The questions to keep in mind were:

  • Who are our stakeholders?
  • What do you want to know?
  • What will be the best consultation method?
  • What will your questions be?
  • How will your focus group be run (if using)?
  • What resources will you need?

The first topic we looked at was Crime and Safety, which was followed by Jobs, Economy and Benefits.

After a short break, we fed back our potential consultations to the group.

Next, we looked at International Relations as a potential motion, as it was prominent in Oldham’s Make Your Mark in comparison to the rest of the country, and it was mentioned last priorities meeting. We discussed that a possible reason for the spike in Make Your Mark was because of three schools in Oldham ranking it highly, because they are currently banned from discussing the conflict in Gaza.

We still need further consultation as to why it was chosen.

To achieve this, we will go to the three schools and speak to teachers, SLT, students and possibly parents.

We will ask questions, such as:

  • What are your worries and concerns internationally?
  • What change do you want?
  • Is it an issue about not being able to discuss it?

We also decided that the best way to tackle this is by using group work, in order to promote healthy discussion, with the added bonus of a youth worker being able to mediate this.

Events and trips:

10th June – Mayoral Committee (meeting with the mayor and other committee members in order to do some charity work).

14th June – members of the Youth Scrutiny Panel to do a presentation to police officers about the issues surrounding stop and search methods.

22nd June – YouthForia – those who have signed up will be sent consent forms closer to the time.

The meeting on the 26th June is mandatory for all YCllrs, as it is Isaac’s Youth Mayor Making.

28th-29th June – 80k walk with a sleep out in order to raise money for various armed forces charities, such as Broughton House.

AOB:

Hassan – asking if Oldham could recognise Palestine as a state, which sparked a debate on the intricacies of the political nature of Oldham Council.

Chris – asking YCllrs to remember their request to review youth provisions, linking to new government policy surrounding it. Sue Palfrey will be attending a future Youth Council meeting to ask for advice as to what to include in a future consultation.