Youth services cuts exceed £1bn in a decade
Fiona Simpson
Friday, December 17, 2021
Cuts to local authority youth services have exceeded £1bn over the past 10 years, analysis of government figures shows.
The Department for Education’s local authority and school expenditure report shows that in 2020/21, £379.4m was spent on youth services.
A breakdown of figures shows that £153.5m was spent on universal youth services and £225.9m was spent on targeted youth services including programmes around substance misuse and teenage pregnancy over the last year.
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Data shows that total spend on youth services has decreased from £528m in 2015/16 and £1,357m in 2010/11.
Analysis by the YMCA finds that this equates to a real-terms fall of 74 per cent in investment over the last decade, meaning youth services have suffered a loss of £1.1bn.
“Youth services are vital to young people’s development, they exist to provide a sense of belonging, a safe space, and the opportunity for some of the most vulnerable young people in the country to enjoy being young.
“They also offer young people the chance to confide in youth workers and trusted adults outside of their family or school about any worries or anxieties they may have, thereby providing an invaluable opportunity for early intervention,” Denise Hatton, chief executive of YMCA England and Wales, said.
The analysis highlights a report into children and young people’s mental health by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, published last week, which championed youth services in providing holistic support for young people and said cuts to youth budgets had led to the need for more crisis intervention to tackle mental health problems.
The YMCA is calling on the government to reinvest in youth services including releasing the £500m youth investment fund promised in the Conservative Party’s 2019 general election manifesto.
In October’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a pot of ££560m for youth services including £368m to fund up to 300 youth centres across England including Scout huts, youth centres and activity centres through the Youth Investment Fund and £20m will be invested in youth services in England.
Some £173m of the total fund was granted to the National Citizen Service over three years.
“By not investing significantly in this sector, especially in relation to the disproportionate challenges endured by this generation over the past 18 months, we run the risk of young people feeling more isolated, disregarded, and desperate than ever before.
“Only by investing in the services and support systems young people rely on to help build happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives will we be able to make a real difference to this generation and those that follow,” Hatton added.