The middle of the line

I didn’t go to the last cabinet meeting of Rugby Borough Council. I had to work late, but I’m not sure if I missed much (the main controversy seems to be over last week’s planning meeting).

The only item I would have been interested in was a report from the councillor responsible for improving Youth Involvement. He has done talks and stuff at local schools, and there are proposals for various things (including a bizarre ‘create a councillor’ competition). What I didn’t see was any reference to a Youth Council, or anything similar.

According to the British Youth Council, there isn’t one for Rugby itself. Warwickshire has one, with three Rugby members representing the whole district. That’s fine, but most Youth Councils I’ve seen are at a district level (and there are even parish-level YCs in places). Crawley, like all districts in West Sussex, has such a body, and it is closely associated with the local Borough Council, holding events in the Town Hall.

Had I been at the meeting, and had I been able to understand the procedure in order to ask a public question, I’d have wanted to know if Rugby could look at a proper Youth Council as a means of encouraging engagement.