Analysis: Practice - Youth services - Workforce reforms confusemany

In the introduction to the Government's response to the consultation on the Children's Workforce Strategy last week (YPN, 15-21 February, p2), youth minister Beverley Hughes wrote: "Critical to the success of (children's services) reforms is increasing the skill, confidence and competence of the workforce ... this means a workforce that is well led and made up of people willing and able to work effectively in an integrated way across agencies."

But with the Government calling for professional boundaries to dissolve within an integrated youth support service, the tightening of youth service budgets, discontinued Transforming Youth Work funding and still no sign from ministers that the profession will be given a statutory footing, uncertainty among youth workers is tangible.