In the 12-month period to March 2023, councils spent £422.7million on youth services, up from £409.9m the year before and the highest figure since the £455m spent in 2018/19.
Yorkshire and Humber and London were the regions that saw the largest increase in spending over the last year, rising by 15 and 11 per cent respectively. However, the West Midlands and East of England saw the deepest spending reductions at 15 and 10 per cent respectively.
Spending on youth services in Wales stayed roughly the same over the 12 months at £45.5m, the highest level since 2013/14.
The YMCA analysis also calculated that the spend per head on youth services in England in 2022/23 was £47.79 for each child aged five to 17, just one per cent higher than the year previously and 75 per cent less than levels in 2010/11. In comparison, spending per head in Wales was £97.38, a drop of 24 per cent on levels in 2010/11. The English region with the lowest spending per head was West Midlands at £24.
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