Youth work waiting lists soar amid financial pressures, report finds

The National Youth Sector Census, managed by NYA and commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), found that a fifth of youth work organisations have a waiting list of between three to six months.

It also found that a quarter of the voluntary sector organisations delivering youth work have less than six months’ worth of reserves, despite high demand for services.

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More than half of those consulted with were operating in the most deprived postcodes, and were found to have higher levels of expenditure compared with those in the least deprived areas of the country.

In the most deprived areas, organisations were also found to have lower numbers of volunteers, though they had a higher number of employees.

The report, which aims to build a reliable dataset to demonstrate the impact of youth work and improve insight for the sector and policy makers, includes data from 920 youth work organisations collected between March 2022 and April this year.

Some 754 of the organisations consulted with were from the voluntary and community sector (VCS), 92 were from upper-tier local authorities and 28 were from metropolitan boroughs and unitary authorities.

The majority of provision is delivered by VCS organisations, the report notes, with 66 per cent offering traditional, centre-based youth work. Some 49 per cent offer leisure activities, 42 per cent facilitate youth voice in communities, and 13 per cent provide spiritual and faith-based development.

A third of VCS organisations reported having reserves that would allow for normal operations for less than six months, with a quarter having reserves of between six to 12 months.

Alex Stutz, head of knowledge at NYA, said: “This snapshot report reinforces what we already know from our network – that the voluntary and community sector is carrying the can, delivering services with and for local authorities, but often they are operating within the context of an uncertain future, unable to plan from one year to the next.

“But we need an even more accurate a picture of youth work. It’s imperative that all those working with young people complete the census, including those local authorities who weren’t included this time around, as well as youth workers funded by allied sectors, and small grassroots organisations, so we have the most accurate dataset to help inform commissioning and funding decisions.”