National evaluation of youth services is long overdue

The findings, while worrying, do not tell the whole story given they focus only on council-run services. Nevertheless, the studies by the Confederation of Heads of Young People's Services and Unite suggest services in some areas will be decimated, with universal, open-access provision hardest hit.

So what makes young people's services such a soft target, and more dispensable than others? Their value lies in fostering relationships for young people with youth workers and their peers, in providing places to go and things to do. But this value is difficult to quantify. Services might yield results that are positive and enabling, such as the confidence and skills to develop a well-rounded personality and gain education and employment; or results that are preventative and diversionary, in providing a focus to avoid criminal behaviour or substance misuse. Their removal may well lead to a lost generation and store up problems for the future with a greater economic and social cost.