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Sandwell reveals plans to halve youth services spend

Sandwell Council has revealed plans to cut its youth services budget by 53 per cent, putting more than 50 jobs at risk as a result.

The Midlands local authority is consulting on proposals to reduce the department’s spending from £1.8m to £850,000.

Under the proposals, put forward as part of £13.4m-worth of cuts to the council’s entire children’s services budget, it is expected that 27 full-time equivalent posts will go.

Despite the cuts, the council wants to protect targeted work with young people and has put forward plans that would ensure provision in all parts of the borough.

The council proposes to run two main youth centres, as well as two youth buses, which will deliver borough-wide services.

In addition, there will be an open access youth club and two detached youth working teams based at seven existing family support hubs.

Councillor Simon Hackett, cabinet member for children’s services, said the council has no choice but to reduce spending on the service.

He said: “We have faced wave after wave of government cuts and we are now down to the bone – quite simply we don’t have any other choice but to take this action.

“We have already cut costs and reorganised management but our hands are tied – we have to deal with the impact of the government’s decisions.

“We have targeted savings to protect frontline services but inevitably there will be an effect given the huge amount of money we have lost.

“Unlike some councils, which have scrapped their youth service, we are committed to providing services to our young people.”

The council will host a series of public consultation events this week to discuss the plans.

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