The meeting's agenda included an update about the support provided to elderly people in Enfield and a presentation about Enfield Council’s Youth Justice Service's work to address racial disparity in the youth justice system.

Older People’s Access to Services in Enfield

This was scheduled to be the first item on the agenda and included several points that were due to be raised by officers. Firstly, the Board was due to receive confirmation that the Council's website had been awarded an accessibility accreditation from the Shaw Trust.¹ The Shaw Trust is a charity that provides employment support, skills development and health and wellbeing services.

Secondly, the Board was scheduled to receive an update on how the Council is ensuring equal access to services for those who are digitally excluded, which included information about its ‘Supporting Independence’ strategy.

“‘Reduce social isolation and loneliness’ and ‘Ensure older people are not excluded in our increasingly digitalised society’ feature as key priorities in our Supporting Independence Strategy 2023-2027.”

The Board was also scheduled to hear about plans to recommission the Prevention & Early Intervention services provided by Adult Social Care. The report pack included a proposal for these services to be required to support people to access the internet.

Tackling Disproportionality within the Youth Justice System and Improving Trust and Confidence Between Young People and the Police.

The Board was scheduled to receive a report that provided an update on the work being undertaken to address racial disparity in Enfield Council’s Youth Justice Service. The report highlighted that:

Every person should be equal in the eyes of the law, regardless of age, ethnicity, or anything else. However, research shows that the Youth Justice System treats children and young people (10-18-years old) from ethnic minority background differently.

The report included data that showed an over-representation of children from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds within the Youth Justice System. It went on to describe what the Council was doing to improve outcomes for these children. The report also included proposals for:

• Improving data sharing.
• Reviewing the impact of the Disproportionality Pledge and its Partnership Action Plan and producing a new Partnership Action for 2025-27 Plan
• Continuing to listen to and learn from lived experiences of children coming into contact with the criminal justice system in order to improve support and service delivery.

The Board was also scheduled to be updated on the work taking place to improve confidence and trust between young people and the Metropolitan Police, which included an update on the work of the Stop and Search group.