Young people with the highest levels of economic and social deprivation don't only need specialist support, they need places, spaces and experiences which enable them to feel and be part of the mainstream.
Without universal services, young people with particular needs become even more marginalised; condemned to engage exclusively with those whose life experiences are often as impoverished or damaged as their own. Not a recipe for social cohesion.
The economic arguments for progressive universalism in youth support and development services are also strong. Universal services are, by their nature, preventative and diversionary. We know, for example, that engagement in a programme of positive activities reduces local crime statistics. And because universal services have a unit cost that is so much lower than targeted or specialist interventions, of course, prevention is cheaper to provide than cure.
Of course, the longer a young person is in specialist services the more it costs. So, if the arguments for universal services, in terms of best value, social justice and community cohesion are so clear, why are universal services so vulnerable at a time of financial constraint? Well, it's all about turning the curve! The cost benefits of universal services are not immediate, whereas the need for targeted and specialist services are artificial and urgent.
It takes time for a universal youth offer to have direct impact on, for example, the number of young people on supervision orders or in custodial care and to build the pathways and supports young people need to wean them from high levels of intervention to ongoing support in a universal framework. So, for a while, until you turn the curve you have to invest in both. At the moment with major financial constraints at local level, this is a real challenge for many local authorities.
My fear is that before we get to a point where we can turn the curve in some places, universal services will be so eroded there will never be the potential to implement progressive universalism and as a consequence our most deprived young people will continue to be ghettoised.
- Fiona Blacke is chief executive at The National Youth Agency. She can be contacted at fionab@nya.org.uk.
