Union raises fears over Birmingham youth work proposals

In its latest budget consultation Birmingham City Council is considering cutting £16m over the next three years from across its district budgets, which include youth, libraries and neighbourhood advice services.

Options for youth services being considered include closing some clubs and putting the largest ones into a separate trust.

The council will also consider whether the service should remain centred around youth clubs or become more outreach-focused, according to a consultation paper called Responding to the Challenge, Looking to the Future.

But Unite has urged the council to rule out further cuts to the service, which it says has lost 86 full-time equivalent youth worker posts since 2011.

Caren Evans, Unite’s West Midlands regional officer, said: “Our youth service is doing a fantastic job engaging with some of the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach young people. But this work needs both sufficient and ringfenced funding.

"Youth workers have a vital role to play not only in the social and personal development of young people but also in keeping our young people safe, building resilience, equipping young people with the skills and confidence for employment and providing participation opportunities.  

“Our members deliver this work in youth clubs across the city, but the capacity for delivery has been massively reduced and trusted relationships built between young people and youth workers are being lost forever through redundancies and closures.”

Unite’s concerns have been echoed by Birmingham Labour councillor Kerry Jenkins, who represents the city’s Hall Green District.

She said: “As a council, we should not allow ourselves to fall into the trap of saving money at whatever cost. Young people voluntarily choose to engage in youth work but further cuts and the possible loss of youth centres will lead to a rise in the numbers of young people feeling disengaged from society.

“The Concord Centre, which is the only youth centre in my district, offers young people a wide range of activities and above all a safe place to go.”

Birmingham City Council’s cabinet will discuss the proposals when it meets next week ahead of a full council meeting on 3 March to decide on the budget. The council estimates it needs to make a total of £338m worth of cuts by 2017/18.

Cabinet member for skills, learning and culture, Penny Holbrook, said: "We remain committed to youth services in Birmingham but government cuts inevitably mean we have to rethink what we do. So we plan to review youth services to ensure they remain relevant and continue to reach as many young people as possible, given the budget constraints.

"One priority has to be ensuring our young people have the skills and qualifications needed for the world of work and we're investing in young people's futures through the Birmingham Youth Promise.”