Agenda item

7.1

Councillor Cliff Woodcraft, Deputy Chair of the Committee and Chair of the Prevent Task Group, presented the Group’s draft report, a copy of which had been circulated.  He took the Committee through the report, paying particular attention to its membership, purpose, approach, findings and recommendations.  Councillor Woodcraft also circulated a copy of an additional recommendation for the Committee’s consideration, regarding referrals to the Safeguarding Service.

7.2

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                Whilst there was no statutory requirement to monitor voluntary youth provision, the Council would investigate if there were any safeguarding issues.  Members would have the opportunity, at the Committee’s March meeting, to raise any issues with representatives of Youth Services in the City.

·                Recommendation 7 in the draft report referred to looking at opportunities for funding to support work with the voluntary, community and faith sectors and local communities with regard to the Prevent agenda. 

·                It was acknowledged that monitoring young people’s internet use was difficult and Recommendation 4 in the draft report made reference to ensuring that e-safety training and best practice materials were shared more broadly within the City.  There were obvious parallels here with the Child Sexual Exploitation cases. 

·                Recommendation 5 in the draft report reflected the need to ensure that community relations in the City were not adversely affected by the Prevent agenda.  Councillor Woodcraft reported that he had attended a training event, organised by the Council for local schools, and that this had covered all forms of extremism, including the far right.  It was emphasised that there was no desire to stigmatise particular communities and it was noted that the training materials, seen by the Task Group members who attended the training sessions, were felt to be balanced.  The importance of ensuring that vulnerable individuals were supported appropriately was also highlighted.

7.3

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       thanks Councillor Cliff Woodcraft and the members of the Prevent Task Group for their excellent work in producing the draft report;

(b)       accepts the draft report, including the recommendations and additional recommendation; and

(c)        recommends that the report be shared with the Council’s Cabinet Members and local Members of Parliament.