Address 'vast inequalities' rural young people experience

The issues in Overlooked: young people and rural youth work are well articulated and come as no surprise to youth workers, teachers, health, social, housing and other workers supporting young people outside of our major conurbations.

The last 18 months showed that a triumvirate of street, building-based and digital youth work, can increase reach, including more young people in our services. The report reflects the importance of these three methodologies. Yet young people in rural areas are lucky to have access to one of these, let alone all three.

An LGA survey on numbers of full time equivalent youth workers, stops at 2016.Thousands more posts have gone since. Figures also mask the reality that many local authority ‘youth workers’ are case-holding practitioners focussed on targeted, one dimensional work at society’s sharp end, with young people failed by the lack of community-based universal services.

They need trusted adults offering consistent, long-term relationships, walking alongside young people for years, rather than a couple of months.  

On funding, many, including the NYA, focus on the shameful way the Youth Investment Fund hasn’t materialised. Even if it arrives, it’ll likely go to large organisations, employing full-time bid writers who put words in the right order, rather than thousands of smaller organisations in need, in rural locations.

Compared to 2009, almost £1billion less per year funds today’s youth services - £100m per year, half of which may go to shiny mega centres in cities, simply won’t cut it. 

Funding shouldn’t arrive because of the prevalence of county lines, increased suicides, the numbing isolation - all of which are real. Funding should arrive for wide-reaching universal services which build resilience against those situations, raise aspirations and develop healthy relationships. Preparing not fixing.

If policymakers are serious about levelling up, redressing the vast inequalities young people in rural areas face, is essential.

Kev Henman is chief executive of Space* Youth Services