Editorial - The human cost of Connexions losses

From the start, many within the youth work community saw this new breed of one-stop advice shop as an ill-conceived New Labour plan. Resentment reigned as cash-strapped youth services watched partnerships receive annual budgets in excess of £530m to spend on everything from flashy high-street locations to Connexions-branded paperclips.

The tables have turned full circle and now Connexions is feeling the pinch. In April, responsibility for partnerships will formally transfer from central government to local authorities as part of the new integrated youth support service arrangements.

Sadly, there will be a human cost to all of this. Potentially hundreds of Connexions staff, mainly those who work behind the scenes, face the prospect of having no job come 1 April. Through no fault of their own they will become acceptable casualties of the drive to improve outcomes for young people while offering the public value for money.

No one at a senior level has been held to account for the perceived failure of the original Connexions model to bring about better outcomes for teenagers. David Blunkett, who as education and employment minister was largely credited with driving through its introduction in 1999, has long since disappeared from national frontline politics.

The only ones who will pay a heavy price are the hard-working professionals in the areas that are dispensing with existing Connexions arrangements. This seems extremely unjust.