Agenda item

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

The Committee received and considered the report along with a verbal update from the Deputy Town Clerk concerning youth services within Witney.

Members noted that all 2026/27 Youth Services Grant agreements had been completed and that a sum of £3,500 remained ringfenced for any further youth related grant applications. Members also noted that monitoring reports had been requested from previous grant recipients so that they may be assessed as part of the grant monitoring arrangements.

Members welcomed  an interim update provided on the work of The Station Detached Youth Service. The Deputy Town Clerk provided a verbal update outlining the significant success of the converted milk float project, which had substantially increased engagement with young people across the town. It was noted that detached youth sessions which had previously engaged with around ten young people were now regularly engaging with between fifty and eighty young people, with one recent session attracting 112 young people. Members were also pleased to hear that the mentoring programme continued to perform well and noted that the next stage of development would be the creation of a youth café run by young people for young people.

The Committee was pleased to note the reduction in anti-social behaviour at The Leys during the summer period and welcomed the positive outcomes reported through Thames Valley Police’s Operation Just. It was also suggested that the opening of Courtside Hubs CIC had contributed positively by increasing the presence of users of the facilities creating a more active and supervised environment.

Members agreed that the services being provided continued to deliver significant social value and acknowledged the importance of maintaining support for youth-related initiatives through the budget-setting process. In considering future provision, Members supported the continuation of the Youth Services Grant Scheme, ongoing funding for Home-Start Oxford and the inflationary uplift required under the Service Level Agreement with The Station.

Members noted that no further information had been received from APCAM regarding the Mental Health Drop-In Sessions and agreed that consideration of future funding should be deferred pending receipt of this additional information.

Recommended:

1.       That, the report be noted.

2. That, a budget of £20,000 be retained for the Youth Services Grant Scheme in 2027/28 and;
3. That, a budget of £12,000 be retained for Home-Start Oxford in 2027/28 and;
4. That, provision of £29,250, subject to inflation, be included within the 2027/28 budget for The Station Detached Youth Service and;
5. That, future provision for APCAM Mental Health Drop-In Sessions be considered once further information has been received.