CYP Now - Youth services 'suffer £1bn funding cut in less than a decade'

Spending on youth services has been cut by nearly £1bn in real terms in the space of eight years, the latest analysis of local authority figures shows.

The West Midlands and North East have experienced the worst cuts, the YMCA says. Picture: YMCA England & Wales

Analysis by YMCA England & Wales found that since 2010/11, spending on youth services in England has reduced by £959m, with local authority spending dropping from £1,357m in 2010/11 to £398m in 2018/19 – equivalent to a 71 per cent cut.

A regional breakdown found that young people in the West Midlands and the North East have experienced the worst cuts, with local authorities in the West Midlands reducing spending on youth services by 80 per cent since 2010/11, while in the North East cuts over the same period amounted to 76 per cent.

Conversely, young people living in the east of England and inner London have fared the best, with respective reductions in spending of 62 per cent and 63 per cent

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