Government will not step in to protect youth services, Loughton admits

Speaking in parliament, Loughton said figures provided to government by local authorities show that the average gross spend on services for young people is down 25 per cent in 2011/12 compared to 2010/11.

A total of 28 authorities did not include any expenditure plans for youth work, with Loughton stating that "discrepancies" are apparent for other youth areas such as substance misuse.

However, he said the figures should be treated with caution, as there is some evidence that authorities have interpreted and used categories of planned expenditure in different ways.

Responding to a question by Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South, who asked whether steps would be taken in respect of local authorities that have significantly reduced their youth service provision, Loughton said government has no current plans to intervene.

"The government believes that the assessment of local priorities and decisions on levels of spend on services for young people are best left to local people," he said.

"The department has no current plans to intervene in respect of any local authority’s services for young people."

He said that the department would act to secure improvement if there is evidence of significant, long-standing failure or where there is evidence that a local authority has been unable to do so.

Loughton has recently spoken of his desire for children to be involved in the design and assessment of youth services.