The latest local authority section 251 returns published by the Department for Education at the end of last month makes for difficult reading for anyone working or delivering youth services.
The data shows councils plan to spend 14.6 per cent less on services for young people in 2016/17 than the previous year. The £424m spend is around half of what was invested by councils in 2010/11, the result of deep cuts to local authority budgets from central government.
With government funding continuing to decline, authorities have been forced to rethink youth provision, such as targeting interventions on those most in need, commissioning more projects from the voluntary sector and "spinning out" youth services from council control altogether.
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