Bradford scales back youth cuts

At a meeting last week, the Yorkshire council agreed to reduce the youth services budget by £1.45m in 2014/15 instead of £3.2m as initially proposed.

The decision means the £4m annual youth services budget will be cut by 36 per cent, as opposed to 80 per cent as was first feared.

The council is to hold discussions over the next few weeks to decide how the cuts will affect services and staff. However, it confirmed the £300,000 budget to support the commissioning of youth services through the voluntary sector will be retained.

Currently, Bradford offers a universal youth service, although there is a focus on vulnerable young people. It is unclear if this will change as a result of the budget reduction.

A council report quotes David Green, leader of the Labour-run authority, as saying: “We have been listening to people’s concerns about our draft budget proposals. We have worked hard to offer solutions to address those concerns and identify extra savings and resources.”

The move comes after thousands of students and young people launched a campaign to protest against the proposed reduction costs.

Bradford College Student Union president, Piers Telemacque, who was involved in the anti-cuts campaign, said: “I still think 36 per cent is a massive cut from something that is so vital – it’s still disproportionate, no other service is getting cut at that level.

“Everyone is saying we should be grateful it is no longer 79 per cent but the reality is we shouldn’t have been put in that situation in the first place.

“I’m 21 now but have used the youth services since I was 13. I know so many kids in Bradford have nothing so the youth service is absolutely vital. It offers a place to talk about issues at home and often the trips offered by the services are the first time they have been out of Bradford. It gives you a different outlook on life and the opportunity to network.”

Bradford is predicted to have the youngest population of any city in Europe by 2020, with 50 per cent of its citizens under 25.