The contract, which is worth between £10m and £20m over six years, will go out to tender in the spring and will begin to be delivered by successful bidders in April 2015.
It will cover the provision of youth work services, youth crime interventions and gang prevention work. In 2013/14, the council's budget for these services totalled £3.63m.
The council says that the decision to outsource the contract is part of an overall strategy of running a “leaner and more cost-effective town hall”.
Councillors said a recent survey of residents found that the majority “didn’t care” who delivered local services as long as they were of a good standard.
In addition, 84 per cent agreed that keeping council tax low is essential for residents – something a council spokesman said would be helped by outsourcing the youth service contract.
He said: “The council has a long and highly successful record of tendering out services dating back more than 30 years.
“The success of this public/private partnership has been instrumental in providing Wandsworth residents with the country’s lowest council tax bills for more than 20 years, combined with what are widely recognised as Britain’s best-run town hall services.”
However, Kieron Merrett, the GMB union’s regional officer, is worried about the effect outsourcing the contract will have on council staff.
He said: “The council is openly using this sort of outsourcing as a way of bringing in further cuts, and can only result in a lower-quality service for young people in Wandsworth – not to mention lower pay and conditions for staff.
“Youth services are an important public service, and they should be run to support the young people who need them more than ever – not just passed to the lowest bidder to run for profit.”
The council said it will host a "Meet the Buyer" event at Wandsworth Town Hall next Tuesday, where organisations interested in bidding for the contract can find out more about the youth service, as well as the commissioning and procurement process.
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