Cuts 'risk the future' of thousands of young people, councils warn
Jess Brown
Friday, June 5, 2015
Fewer than one in 10 councils have sufficient powers and funding to meet their legal duties to support young people who are not in employment, education or training (Neet), it has been claimed.
A survey conducted by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that just seven per cent of councils say they have sufficient powers and funding to meet their legal duties to identify and reduce teenage disengagement and secure suitable education and training places for all 16- to 18-year-olds.
The LGA said 40 per cent funding cuts imposed on councils from central government since 2010, alongside the removal of council powers over key services such as careers advice, national engagement programmes and further education, are "risking the future" of thousands of young people.
The survey found that nine out of 10 councils have reduced spending on services for 16- to 18-year-olds, while one in 10 councils has reduced spending by 70 per cent or more.
Only seven per cent of councils said they had sufficient resources to reduce teenage disengagement and properly support 16- to 18-year olds.
More than 80 per cent of councils surveyed said greater devolution and flexibility would allow them to further reduce Neet levels, which currently stand at more than 738,000 16- to 24-year-olds across England.
The LGA is calling on the government to take a number of actions, including:
- Establishing a new "youth offer" that allows 14- to 21-year-olds access to independent careers and employment advice.
- A guarantee of support into training or employment for every young person that is unemployed and not in education.
- Allowing partnerships of schools, colleges and councils to work together to improve skills for local employers and young people.
The LGA said if the reforms are implemented, youth employment would be reduced by 50 per cent, and the proportion of young people in some form of work or training will increase to 95 per cent.
David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA’s children and young people board, said cuts without reform "put thousands of promising futures at risk".
"Councils are uniquely well placed to help young people access the opportunities created by the local employers increasingly frustrated by remote national institutions," he said.
"It is important that we have the powers, levers and funding to fulfil our legal duties to young people."
