Last week CYP Now reported that Birmingham City Council is axing grant-aided funding for voluntary youth organisations in favour of contracting out services.
According to Tony Bennett, chief executive of Clubs for Young People, the cuts are indicative of the national picture: "It just happens to be Birmingham this week."
The local authority intends to replace yearly grants with a "flexible commissioning framework". But just how flexible will the council be and what does this mean for the future of voluntary youth services?
In Birmingham, fears for voluntary organisations centre on whether the smaller organisations will be able to compete for services if they are tendered out to contract. There are also concerns that a process of funding services specified by the council will undermine the innovative nature of the voluntary sector.
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