Southwark Council: October 17 Council Assembly

There's another Council Assembly on the horizon. This is the full meeting of all the ward councillors in Southwark, which takes place seven times a year.

We used to hold them at the council chamber in Southwark Town Hall but since July 2011 they've been hosted at community-based locations and the venue for October 17 will be confirmed soon.

Meanwhile, we've started another programme of community outreach and engagement in preparation for the themed debate which on October 17 will be about 'Opportunities for young people in Southwark, including youth employment'.

This is the part of the main business meeting where councillors debate an issue that's of particular relevance to people across the borough, and to ensure that they have a strong sense of 'what the people think' we compile a dossier of 'community views' which is circulated to all councillors in advance of the meeting.

As part of this process, the SE1 Forum has proved to be a rich source of comment and opinion. So, let's have your thoughts on 'Opportunities for young people in Southwark, including youth employment'.

For example:

What would most improve the life opportunities of young people in Southwark?

How can we as a community provide them with better employment prospects?

What's troubling young people in Southwark?

What's on your minds?

We're keen to hear from anyone, but clearly the voice of young people themselves needs to be an integral part of this process.

You can post your views here and they'll be captured that way, or you can email them to democracy@southwark.gov.uk

When the process is complete we'll share a link to the final dossier of community views. Here's what the most recent one looked like, for the July 2012 assembly debate on 'Health in Southwark':

http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/s29970/Community%20Views.pdf

Our deadline for capturing your views is 5pm on Friday 28 September.

'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; it's the only thing that ever has.'

Margaret Mead, and me.

Hello again,

Confirmation that the October 17 Council Assembly will be held at Walworth Academy, Shorncliffe Road, London SE1 5UJ.

We'll start with an hour-long informal session from 6pm. Join the Mayor of Southwark in celebrating the Olympic legacy and achievements by our young people.

• Sporting displays by Team Southwark winners in The London Youth Games 2012.
• Meet some of the young writers behind Southwark’s
Olympic Youth Poem.
• Exhibition of Southwark’s sporting heroes.
• Various stalls promoting work and training
opportunities for young people.

Meanwhile, we've had a zero response here so far to our call for your views on 'opportunities for young people in Southwark, including youth employment'.

Given that youth unemployment in London has soared to crisis proportions not seen for a generation, with one in four young people aged 16 to 24 unemployed, this is a critical debate and we really would appreciate your input.

We need to share our usual dossier of community views with all councillors in advance of their debate on October 17 and can include your points of view if we receive them, ideally, by this Friday 28 September.

This will ensure that we give councillors sufficient time to consider your views and suggestions and to take them on board.

We can extend this deadline to Wednesday October 3 as a final cut off point.

provide them with a better eductaion - SC education take note here
change the law to make employing (and firing) young people more easy
incentivise business to do the above through tax breaks
incentivise business to invest in the area by providing investment grade space at cheap rents
reduce taxes on business to allow them to invest both in human and physical assets

there's loads of ways to help but the real ones are far away from political dogma which is endemic in the Uk these days