Youth Services Act needed to boost access for young people, NYA says
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, March 21, 2024
The implementation of legislation to underpin councils’ legal duty to provide a local youth offer is among a series of recommendations in a new manifesto designed to increase young people’s access to youth services.
The introduction of such legislation through parliament would need to be accompanied by increased government funding, the National Youth Agency’s (NYA) manifesto states.
This would help “address challenges” faced by local authorities in delivering on a statutory duty to provide a local youth offer caused by a lack of “financial means or resources”.
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“The introduction of a new Statutory Duty Youth Services Act would address these challenges through strengthening the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s guidance legislatively to increase the prioritisation of youth service provision by local authorities,” states the document.
It adds: “Cuts to statutory youth services for over a decade means that access to youth work is patchy, the profession often goes unrecognised and many young people are missing out on the vital support of a trusted adult.”
Other recommendations listed in the report include the creation of a national youth strategy and a dedicated youth minister at cabinet level with a cross-departmental remit.
A key focus of a national youth strategy should be rebuilding the youth workforce, NYA says.
Youth work services – whether in a youth club or detached, or delivered with allied sectors such as schools, youth justice or hospitals – provide a lifeline for young people, helping them to gain essential life skills and fulfil their potential.
— NYA (@natyouthagency) March 21, 2024
However, cuts to statutory youth… pic.twitter.com/U8tL5GW2za
The manifesto highlights a drop of 4,500 youth workers over the last decade.
“The government should work with the NYA to explore innovative pathways that can build the pipeline of new entrants to the sector, and support initiatives to enhance job stability and career progression,” it states.
NYA is also calling for government to invest revenue funding to reverse the £1 billion a year annual decline over the last decade and to work with councils and charities to increase the evidence base highlighting the benefits of youth work.
Latest analysis by YMCA England and Wales finds that spending by English local authorities on youth services rose by three per cent in 2022/23 but is still 73 per cent below levels seen in 2010/11.
