Agenda item

To consider the following motions on the theme submitted by members of the council:

·  Apprenticeships and work placements

·  Opportunities for young people, including youth employment.

MOTION 1 – APPRENTICESHIPS AND WORK PLACEMENTS

(See page 4 of the main agenda)

Councillor Paul Noblet, seconded by Councillor Tim McNally, moved the motion.

Councillor Peter John, seconded by Councillor Ian Wingfield, moved Amendment A.

Following debate (Councillors David Hubber, Mark Glover, Catherine Bowman, Cleo Soanes, Lisa Rajan, Sunil Chopra, Eliza Mann, Richard Livingstone and Anood Al-Samerai), the Mayor announced that the time allocated to the themed section of the meeting had expired.

Amendment A was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

RESOLVED:

1.  That council assembly recognises the importance of providing real opportunities for young people in Southwark if we are to have fair and resilient communities and a thriving local economy.

2.  That council assembly believes that when the economy is in recession and youth unemployment is high, it is the role of government at both national and local level to take action.

3.  That council assembly notes that opportunities for young people mean more than just employment opportunities. Many young people in Southwark want to go to college and university and the council should do everything it can to support that ambition.

4.  That council assembly notes the increase in the number of long-term young unemployed people in Southwark and regrets the complacency of the government regarding youth unemployment. It also regrets the government’s disastrous decision to treble tuition fees and scrap educational maintenance allowance and notes the negative impact this is already having on the number of people applying for university.

5.  That council assembly recognises the value of schemes like the Foot in the Door project run by Southwark Works since 2008 with funding from Southwark Council. Council assembly welcomes the experience which the work placements provide and which leads to permanent paid jobs but notes the project is currently part of a review of the council's economic wellbeing strategy. The aim of the review is to highlight youth unemployment as a major area of focus and will also determine the priorities for allocation of limited resources to support the council's aims for employment and enterprise.

6.  That council assembly therefore notes that while the council is reviewing its economic wellbeing strategy it should work to promote other schemes that are creating apprenticeship opportunities for Southwark’s young people.

7.  That council assembly therefore welcomes this Labour administration £3 million youth fund which is supporting:

·  Talented Southwark scholars through university by paying all of their tuition fees

·  Paying an educational maintenance supplement to 1000 young people so that they can stay on in further education

·  Creating 1,500 job opportunities for young people in the borough.

8.  That council assembly calls on councillors on all sides to support the youth fund and consider what more can be done to support employment opportunities for young people and to enable young people to access further and higher education.

MOTION 2 – HEALTH AND WELLBEING PRIORITIES

(See page 5 of the main agenda)

Motion 2 was withdrawn.