The findings are underlined in another survey, conducted by the union Unite in conjunction with CYP Now, which showed that more than a quarter of youth services in England face cuts of between 21 and 30 per cent.

The study of youth service chiefs, conducted by the Confederation of Heads of Young People's Services (Chyps), estimates that £100m will be cut from local authority youth service budgets in England by March 2012. As a result, it says local authorities nationwide will be forced to shed 3,000 full-time equivalent youth work staff as they seek to scale back or reconfigure their services.

Most affected services

The services most affected will be open-access youth clubs and centres, the Chyps study found. Ninety-six per cent of the 41 heads of youth services that responded said these would either be reduced or stopped altogether by April 2012.

The Unite survey revealed a similar picture. Twenty-seven per cent of its youth service members who responded said that youth clubs and centres would be most affected by the cuts. The same percentage said that Connexions or other information, advice and guidance services would be hit by spending reductions.

The Unite survey also revealed the extent of some of the cuts taking place in some local authorities. In Warwickshire and Tameside for example, there are plans to scrap the existing youth service altogether, while in Hampshire, 150 full-time equivalent integrated youth support service posts out of a possible 255 jobs could be lost. However, the results do not reveal the full impact of cuts across the youth sector as they do not include voluntary youth groups.

One Unite member said his local authority showed little regard for young people. "This is definitely a slash-and-burn approach without much thought for services to young people. The prevention services have all but been removed," he said.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of the 44 respondents to the Unite survey said they were still unclear about how cuts would affect youth services in their area, which was fuelling anxiety.

"The staff are not being kept informed. We know we are facing cuts but we are not being told how these savings will be made," one member said.

Another added: "Everyone is utterly demoralised. They say the youth service is being dissolved, when actually it is being destroyed."

Soft target for cuts

David Wright, chief executive of Chyps, said local authorities appeared to be passing on cuts disproportionately to youth services. "Children's minister Tim Loughton said at the recent National Youth Agency/Local Government Association conference that youth services had been a soft target for cuts; this is borne out in the survey we conducted," Wright said. "We calculate that more than £100m will be removed from the local authority operational budgets by March 2012, with just under 3,000 full-time equivalent staff being lost. Losing their skills and expertise will have a serious impact, not just on the direct delivery of projects but on a whole range of local neighbourhood partnerships that are making a real difference to communities and young people."

He said he hopes councils and central government start thinking long-term about investing in services for young people. "We knew the initial cuts were going to have a tremendous impact on young people," said Wright. "But as local authorities plan their budgets for the next three years, we need to ensure that the case for youth work is heard amongst all the competing demands for resources."

Liam Preston, chair of the British Youth Council (BYC), described the extent of the cuts revealed in the surveys as "a massive blow to young people". "They must equate to the loss of tens of thousands of opportunities and services for young people," he said.

"From our perspective as the users and losers of these services, we cannot afford as a society to make short-term savings that might result in long-term damage. These are not just services to meet immediate needs today, but represent investment in prevention of more costly interventions tomorrow."

CYP Now's For Youth's Sake campaign is calling on the government to outline its vision for young people, let them have a genuine say in shaping their services and calls for employers to invest in the youth workforce and value the contribution they make to society. To find out more, visit www.foryouthssake.co.uk. To sign the online campaign pledge, visit: www.cypnow.co.uk/fys.

COMMENT: Doug Nicholls, national officer for community, youth workers and not-for-profit sector, Unite.

The British youth service was the first in the world. It established a universal right for young people to enjoy learning beyond the classroom. It gave a voice and place for those who do not have a vote, but who have a lot to offer and say. This service is now being demolished.

A cut of 20 per cent may not sound large but in reality it means further cuts to already insufficiently staffed services.

This week's Unite survey reveals that the highest number of local authority youth services face cuts of between 20 and 30 per cent. At the top end, this is more than three times the level of average local authority cuts.

In some rural areas like Northamptonshire there is nothing left. In Suffolk, Warwickshire and many others that intend to abandon the service, the cuts will mean a youth service will no longer exist.

The government says it wants youth services to target the most vulnerable, but offering targeted services without universal provision is insane. Young people only want to be targeted with respect and resources; they don't want to be made to feel stigmatised.

Potentially, more than £600m will be spent on the National Citizen Service (NCS) to work with only 16-year-olds over the summer holidays. Yet the meagre £300m spent by government for a 365-day-a-year youth service will be largely gone in a year.

The youth service needs the NCS money now and a new national youth service must be created. The consequence of not investing will be a younger generation that feels even more marginalised and let down by society.

Unite is staging the Choose Youth rally on 12 February to raise awareness of the cuts facing services for young people. To book a place, visit www.chooseyouth.org.

• Read CYP Now editor Ravi Chandiramani's leader