An undisclosed number of youth work jobs have already been lost and more are set to go before next April. Two youth centres are also earmarked for closure.
Councillor Chris Watt, cabinet member for children's services, said the losses were necessary as National Audit Commission figures show its youth service spending does not compare favourably with that of similiarly sized local authorities and because it needs to move away from youth centre-based provision.
"We're simply not getting good value for money, so we are making reductions to bring our spending in line with that of others," he said.
But Gill Millar, regional youth work adviser for Learning South West, said that the youth service appeared to be bearing the cost of overspending elsewhere in children's services. "It's easier for the council to cut back on youth services than in other areas where it has a statutory duty to provide a certain level of service," she said.
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