Agenda and draft minutes

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Venue: Committee Room - Council Offices, London Road, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 4ER. View directions

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors H Briffa, J Fairhurst, A McHugh, E Reid, J Reid and District Councillor Lemon.

 

The Democratic Services Officer said the Youth Council was not quorate and therefore no resolutions could be passed at the meeting.

2.

Minutes of the previous meeting(s) pdf icon PDF 58 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members deferred approval of the minutes until the next quorate meeting.

3.

National Democracy Week

Minutes:

The Democratic and Electoral Manager explained the electoral registration process for potential electors aged sixteen or seventeen. Throughout the presentation she stressed the importance of registering to vote; if potential electors had not registered before an election, they would be unable to exercise their right to vote on polling day.

 

She said sixteen or seventeen year olds could register in a variety of ways but the most straightforward method was to register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. She added that a National Insurance number would be required.

 

Members agreed in principle that it would be helpful if the Democratic and Electoral Services Manager visited schools to talk about the importance and practicalities of electoral registration.

 

The Community Officer said this could be progressed as a joint initiative between the Youth Council and Electoral Services, particularly if scheduled during the Youth Council’s election period in September or October. He said it would be a good time to promote democracy in a general sense.

 

Councillor Birkbeck said young people were not interested in ‘National Democracy Week’ but they were interested in democracy. Schools were continuously informing pupils of the importance of democracy, but this was not enough to create sufficient enthusiasm or engagement with young people. He said holding a mock referendum on a relevant and pressing issue, such as abortion, would be a good way to generate youth engagement with democracy.

 

The Chairman said a Democracy working group would be established at the next quorate meeting to help take this issue forward.

4.

Youth Council Constitution pdf icon PDF 140 KB

Minutes:

As the meeting was not quorate, the Chairman deferred the decisions on changing the constitution and co-opting new members until the next meeting. She said the items would be on the next agenda.

 

Councillor Birkbeck asked for the amended constitution to be included with the minutes of this meeting (please see attached).

 

Members said they were happy to speak at Council and requested a Youth Council item on the next possible Full Council agenda.

 

5.

Proposed Planning Seminar

Minutes:

Members discussed the proposed planning/housing seminar. There was general agreement that young people were interested in the issues of planning and housing, and they should contribute to the Local Plan in Uttlesford.

 

The Community Officer said the seminar needed to be arranged before the Uttlesford Local Plan consultation period ended in September, to ensure young people in the District contributed towards their views to the consultation process.

 

Councillor Birkbeck said those invited to address the seminar should display a range of views on planning issues, including local groups and officers at the council, so the young people whom attended were truly well informed.

 

Councillor Fairhurst said the Assistant Director – Planning should arrange a consultation with the Youth Council and requested officers to contact him.

 

The Community Officer said a realistic date for the seminar was likely to be in early September, but he would keep Members informed.

6.

Working Groups pdf icon PDF 360 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members discussed the following Working Groups

           

       Plastics – Councillor Birkbeck requested that Plastics was placed as an item on the next agenda.

 

       Elections  - Councillor Birkbeck tabled a draft resolution, which included a motion to adopt proposed election guidelines in the constitution (resolution and guideline documents attached). As the meeting was not quorate, a binding resolution could not be made. Members discussed the prospect of holding a virtual meeting by using social media or voting buttons via email.

 

       Communications – The Chairman and Councillor Birkbeck had arranged to meet a journalist at the Saffron Walden Reporter to help raise the profile of the Youth Council and increase participation before the scheduled elections in September.

 

The Community Officer said the Youth Council had now a formal Council email address and he would circulate details following the meeting.

7.

Date of next meeting(s)

Minutes:

 

·                     11th September at 5.30pm

 

·                     7th November at 5.30pm

 

·                     9th January at 5.30pm

 

·                     7th March at 5.30pm

 

                       

The meeting ended at 7.00pm