The Love Bug

The Love Bug poster campaign.

Now if like me and a few "more mature" members of the team you thought that the posters around were for a new Herbie movie you would be wrong.

It's about the upsurge in Chlamydia in the sexually active young people of the UK.

At a recent event in Billericay High Street i was discussing the latest initiative where the r u Clear team are sending via the post, a self test kit to all 18-24 year olds.

Now, they have taken the details from the electoral role so there is no details on the religious beliefs or if the individual has special needs.

I questioned this but was informed that the pack contains a letter saying if your not sexually active to return it via free post to the team.

Not sure if this is a good idea or not, still not made my mind up . Comments please.

The polls are closed

Well the votes have been cast and the count will be in before the end of the week.

Granted the YEA voting has not generated as much media hype as the recent voting in the states but hey this could be just as much a historic event.

The polling boxes are in the process of collection ready to find out which are the lucky representatives for the young people of Essex.

That's when their hard work will start. The young people of Essex are expecting to have their voice heard via you so get ready and get out there and consult with them.

Praise to those workers that have supported those that have stood for election and those that continue to support the ones that may not be lucky this time round.

Keep your eyes on the Essex county website for more information.

Time to vote ...and not for X Factor !!!!!

It’s the first day the polls have been opened for all young people between the ages of 11 and 19. They are voting to elect the members of the Young Essex Assembly (YEA). The elections happen once every two years and are a fantastic opportunity for our young people to have a say on how Essex is governed.
The YEA has the same seats as the County Council (75) and are divided across the 12 districts and borough boundaries.
The last group of elected representatives have already signed up more than 100 schools and youth clubs to the Green Pledge and created an advertising campaign to clamp down on anti-social behaviour on the buses.
This is an excellent experience for young people especially if they seek a career in politics or are just taking an interest in local democracy.

So if your 11-19 get your voice heard and elect a representative this week.

Did you know that there are more young people who vote for people on X factor than there are adults that vote in a general election !!!!!!

Youth Scrutiny Committee

Youth Scrutiny Committee is the new buzz in the halls of all our offices at the moment.

It has been decided that as a council we should have a Youth Scrutiny panel or committee to give it its official title.

What a great idea.

I was lucky to attend a meeting on Friday that explained the reasons for this project to go forth.
It has complete support from the very top down, which means a high profile provision.

The aim is to have the group, hopefully of around 20 young people, to be up and running by the middle of next year.

The committee will report direct to the main council scrutiny board a real chance for the voices of the young people of Essex to be heard and for them to have a level of power to ask those questions that need asking, but from their perspective.

I will keep you posted on the progression at regular intervals but I'm also keen to hear from others that have undertaken this process of are thinking of this for their area.

Information or links needed

I have been asked to find out about virtual Youth Clubs.

Does anyone out there know of any or better still are you involved in the delivery of a virtual youth provision?

If so then I would love to hear from you as I want to find out if this is a goer or a stumbler !!

Thanks

Data loss

I was looking at the C & YP website and saw this new article.


Leicester nursery loses children's data in security breach
Children & Young People Now20 November 2008
Leicester council has admitted to a "serious and unacceptable breach of protocols" after a council-run nursery lost a data stick containing personal information on 80 children.

The names, addresses, ages and telephone numbers of the children were on the stick. Leicester City Council said it would not reveal the name of the nursery involved or how the stick went missing until an investigation had been completed. No date has been set for when the investigation will be complete.
"From initial information available to me it is clear there has been a serious and unacceptable breach of our protocols around data storage and data loss," said Sheila Lock, the council's chief executive.
Lock claimed the council had very strict rules around data protection and said it would be taking immediate steps to "remind everyone what these are".
The news comes as a transatlantic survey conducted by mobile security company Credant Technologies was published yesterday. It showed that more than a third of health professionals are putting personal information at risk by storing it on devices such as data sticks, which are not adequately secured.
The council has informed the parents of all the children concerned. It has also offered to help families change telephone numbers or even change addresses if they felt it was necessary, but so far nobody has taken up the offer.

Now we have a policy on data sticks and emailing in Essex, so why does this keep happening with all the technology we have. It's not that difficult to set up a password protected area on your data stick so why was this not done.

We have to store this information so can protected data sticks not be made available to the nurseries and other team that need them. They don't cost much.

Viewing other blogs

Well i have been looking around on the old Internet at other peoples blogs and wondering if i could change the way i do things.

I had a look at our own Essex blog completed by Joanna Killian, the Chief Executive of Essex County Council.
She has guest bloggers on her site which i thought might be really good.

Also I keep looking at my site and people i know say its good to read to get that insight into the role of TASCC but I do not seem to get many comments left.

So if you do read this please comment negative comment i can learn more from than the positive some times so please don't hold back.