THE council's next long-term plan should be influenced by videos, blogs and social media polls from the area’s younger generation, councillors have been told.

The Deal 2030 – the authority's corporate strategy for the next decade – has been discussed this week by a committee in public for the first time.

It will be the council’s latest version of its Deal plan, first designed to reform services in the wake of funding cuts and austerity.

A report has revealed the authority, as part of a consultation period for the major plan, will be encouraging young residents to create digital content to outline their visions for the borough.

Project manager Michelle Price, addressing councillors at this week’s health and well-being board meeting, said the authority ‘wants to bring the strategy to life’.

“We want to create some stories, create some film and art. We really want to engage young people. I asked my 11-year-old how he would like to be asked and he said; Instagram,” she added.

A report tabled at the committee meeting said ‘we would encourage a digital engagement element with young people; ask them to create YouTube video or Blogs to tell us their vision…there is potential to use Instagram stories and Facebook to ask them to vote on their key issues.”

Assistant director for transformation Kathryn Rees said: “Our current corporate strategy Deal for the Future is coming to an end in 2020 and we were thinking about the next stages, how we can develop a strategy all about the borough that includes all our partners and also, more importantly, our residents and engaging them in the development.”

Committee members were told the consultation phase of the plan’s formulation will take place for the rest of the year before a final draft is presented to cabinet and full council in the early months of 2019.

And with the council having aligned itself with closer links to the borough’s clinical commissioning group (CCG) in recent months, Deal 2030 also provides an opportunity to shape ‘broader public services’, councillors heard.

Leader of the council David Molyneux highlighted that the financial settlement for local government will change in 2020 and there is an opportunity to work alongside other service providers.

He said: “It gives us an opportunity now more than ever for our partners to get involved. It’s important to us in terms of what we deliver together to the people out there.”

The health and well-being board includes members from the borough’s NHS, emergency services and public health teams, in addition to council representatives.

“A lot of you with have visions within your own set ups of how things will pan out over the next number of years but it’s about looking beyond that, ” Cllr Molyneux added.

“If partners can take this away and seriously look at it, that would certainly help us as we plan for what we want to deliver as a vision for 2030, and I think it’s more important than ever for all of us to have that same vision.”

Keith Cunliffe, deputy leader of the council and Leigh East ward councillor, said: “I think there’s a big conversation to be had with our partners about workforce and workforce planning.

“I don’t think the jobs that will be around in 2030 will be the jobs that we have today. Across the partnership we need to be thinking about that.

“We need to be thinking about schools, the health service and all our partners; the police and the fire service. A range of things are going to change and we need to start having that discussion.”