Youth work is more vital now than ever

The signs are already there that youth service funding will be viewed as one of the "easier" cuts in children's services. In December, Oxfordshire County Council proposed slashing funding for youth support from £3.7m to £1.4m by 2013 as part of an overall £18m reduction in its children, young people and families budget. At the end of October, Birmingham City Council announced that it was reducing its youth service spend by almost £1m over two years. This could lead to the loss of a number of services, including a drop-in service for sexual health advice.

While it's naive to think that youth services can escape cutbacks, there needs to be a wider awareness about the valuable role they play during a recession. As our feature on the W13 Youth and Connexions Centre shows (see p14), well-run youth services can provide young people with precisely the opportunities they need during challenging times. These range from finding them volunteering projects to teaching them practical skills such as clothes-making and, perhaps most importantly, providing them with emotional support and a friendly adult to listen to their concerns.