Niall and his friends live in the region of England that provoked outrage among the youth work community just over a year ago when Northamptonshire County Council announced it was slashing back on most of its youth work team in favour of commissioning out services to a combination of private and voluntary sector providers in a bid to save costs.
Union action followed but the proposals were agreed at a council meeting last May (see box out).
Drastic cuts
On the face of it, the move to commission out services seemed very much in line with the Youth Matters green paper, which urged local authorities to consider outsourcing services to voluntary and private organisations. But the scale and the timeframe of the cuts alarmed the youth work union.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
