Youth services and children's centres at risk as Liverpool tackles 'hardest' spending cuts
Neil Puffett
Friday, February 18, 2011
Four children's centres and youth services are at risk under budget proposals unveiled today (18 February) by Liverpool City Council.
As part of plans to make £91m of savings in 2011/12, the council will consult on the possible closure of four centres in the least deprived areas of the city.
The council says its early intervention grant from government, which funds children's centres has been cut by £6m in real terms, compared with the previous grant streams it received.
Meanwhile, the council’s youth service is facing significant cuts following a service review although the council says "substantial savings" on management costs could help bridge this gap.
The youth service will have to operate with a reduced budget of £5.5m in 2011/12, a reduction of 28 per cent, and in 2012/13 the budget will be £5.05m.
The council said it is committed to working with partner organisations including housing associations, police, faith groups and resident associations, to maximise youth provision in the city and is "optimistic" that most frontline youth work will continue.
"We are also looking to utilise some £400,000 of the early intervention grant to target services to young people living in our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods as part of this review," the budget proposals states.
In addition, day care and nursery provision will no longer be supported where there are surplus places, a move likely to affect four nurseries.
The council has, though, committed to protecting children’s care services, which will will face a reduction of one per cent on its budget of £0.6m. This means no child protection social workers will lose their jobs.Joe Anderson, council leader, said Liverpool was the hardest hit by cuts of any council. "There is no disguising the fact that these are the most severe cuts we have had to make in generations," he said.
"While we have tried to protect frontline services, especially those to vulnerable people, the sheer scale of the cuts mean that it has not always been possible to do that. We have had to make heartbreaking decisions which will cause real pain in our communities.
"That is a direct result of Liverpool being the hardest hit of any council in the reduction of grants, grants previously given in view of the levels of deprivation in the city."
