The youth service, which also received an unsatisfactory Ofsted report in April 2004, spent just 38.74 per young person during the financial year 2003-04. Norfolk was the second lowest spender, shelling out just 44.31 per head.
Camden Youth Service topped the table after spending 247.18 on every young person in 2003-04. It was followed closely by Islington, Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea. But in October 2002, Ofsted described Camden's youth service as "poor value for money".
Torbay Youth Service said the low level of expenditure was something it was "acutely" aware of, and was the result of a period of restructuring.
Tony Smith, chief executive of Torbay Children's Services, said: "We have restructured our youth service to be independent of community colleges.
Last year we put in an additional 70,000 and this year we propose adding a further 50,000."
Joe Elston, principal youth officer at Torbay Youth Service, said: "The funding is a first step towards increasing provision and marks a continued commitment to developing a youth service to address the needs of Torbay's young people."
The GMB Young Members London Region, which compiled the table from figures supplied to the Audit Commission by 148 councils, reported that the average youth service spent 91.65 on each young person in 2003-04.
In its 2002 Resourcing Excellent Youth Services document, the Government said services should spend at least 100 per head.
But Tom Wylie, chief executive of The National Youth Agency, said: "Spending per head doesn't mean anything. What matters is good-quality outcomes for young people."
www.gmb.org.uk
See Ferret, p14.
