National politicians want to minimise the political impact of tough decisions, and the present government has been no worse in this regard than previous administrations. But the coalition has made an art form of announcing cuts followed by a rethink to the most unpopular cuts, listening to concerns and perhaps inventing a new (but cheaper) scheme.
Once the furore has died down, the cuts are implemented, with just a nod towards mitigating the most serious effects. If you don’t have some civil disobedience – as in the case of the educational maintenance allowance or powerful lobbies such as the arts and sports establishments – nothing happens at all. And the new mantra of localism has enabled ministers to distance themselves from tough local decisions and "devolve the axe".
School Sports Partnership funding was reprieved for a year after heavy lobbying by the public faces of sport, but has now been quietly removed and "replaced" by non-ringfenced funding for secondary schools. There is lottery funding until 2014-15, but this is only one fifth of the previous support. So, not surprisingly, entries for the School Olympics have been slow and at a low level. Unless the strategy changes, the Olympic legacy will only be rhetorical.
I am concerned about the huge impact on out-of-school services, in particular music and the arts, sports and, of course, traditional youth services. These services provide integrated support for young people, providing places to go and things to do. At a time of great social change, with increased reliance on social networking, these face-to-face services seem of particular importance. I just don’t see the National Citizen Service or the Big Society taking up the slack.
John Freeman CBE is a former director of children’s services and is now a freelance consultant Read his blog at cypnow.co.uk/freemansthinking
