Joint working - Recession fallout takes its toll on workforce morale

With the economy slowly emerging from the worst recession since the 1930s, a detailed survey by CYP Now has revealed acute concerns about the future of the workforce and the impact of prospective cuts.

Completed by 50 workers from across youth justice, early years and youth work settings, the survey finds that 74 per cent are concerned about their jobs.

Meanwhile, just under half of respondents (48 per cent) say colleagues are actively considering a change of career.

Spending cuts

One youth offending team (YOT) manager comments: "(There is) no evidence of significant career changes yet but this is likely to come."

The full effects of the downturn have not been immediately apparent in the sector, although local authorities are already suffering reduced income from business rates and other sources.

Central government spending on public services will also be reduced in the near future as the political parties argue over how severe cuts should be and where the axe should fall.

Sir Paul Ennals, chair of the Children's Workforce Development Council, says he is not surprised staff are concerned as there will be reductions in public expenditure over the next three or four years. "I think the reductions won't be as bad as some of the newspapers fear so we all need to keep this in perspective, but of course some jobs are at risk," he adds.

"The key message for me is that the staff who are well qualified, well skilled and flexible will be the ones who are retained. The work many of us are doing in boosting the qualifications of the children's workforce and increasing their ability to work in integrated ways is even more important now."

Aside from job worries, all 50 respondents, from frontline workers to senior managers, expressed concern about the impact of the recession on services. Sixty-four per cent doubt they will have adequate resources next year to deliver all the services they deem necessary.

But the sector's preparedness for expected pressure on budgets reveals a more mixed picture, with a split when it comes to planning. Forty-eight per cent say they have no contingency plans in place to mitigate the effect of potential cuts with 42 per cent saying they do.

One YOT manager says contingency plans include exploring integrated working opportunities, such as redeploying staff into other services with youth work vacancies.

An early years worker comments: "All our grants are one-off and ad hoc. If attendance drops and we can't access additional funds, we can't pay staff and we close. We have never had any kind of dependable funding and little in the way of a safety net."

When it comes to identifying where cuts will be made there is no clear consensus. More than a third (36 per cent) of respondents say that all areas of their service face potential cuts, while staffing (12 per cent) and prevention and early intervention budgets (4 per cent) are also identified as "at risk".

Lack of guidance

Another finding is that 80 per cent of respondents claim not to have received any guidance from central government or local authorities on how to prepare for expected cuts.

Debbie Jones, chair of the Association of Directors of Children's Service's resources and sustainability policy committee, says there is work at a high level taking place as to how best prepare services for probable cuts.

However, she adds that staff may not be aware of this yet because local authority finances will not be significantly affected until the next comprehensive spending review in 2011/12. "That is where our major efforts are going to be," she says. "The big issue for us is how you protect services like early intervention in this sort of economic climate."

VIEWS FROM THE SECTOR

On potential career changes:

"This has been subject to recent job evaluation within numerous local authorities who have been pressurised into making savings."

"The concern is that this will affect staff morale and consequently frontline service delivery and the quality of such."

On priority services for children and young people:

"Vulnerable children and safeguarding have to be prioritised but I would also like emphasis on early intervention and prevention to be retained."

"The impact of cuts in adult services on outcomes for children must also be considered."

On services at greatest risk:

"The risk is that safeguarding will take funding from other services - especially youth services/youth work."

On biggest concern about economic situation:

"The third sector is weak and responds to funders' wishes rather than being able to do what is requested by communities and young people."

JOBS AND CAREERS

- Are staff concerned about losing their jobs?

14% NO

74% YES

- Are staff concerned about changes to their jobs (i.e. increased workload or pressure?)

10% NO

80% YES

- Are colleagues actively considering a change of career?

34% NO

48% YES

IMPACT AND PLANNING

Are you concerned about the impact of the current economic situation?

100% YES

- Do you have contingency plans in place to mitigate the effect of budget cuts?

42% YES

48% NO

- Have you had any guidance from central government or the local authority for dealing with tight budgets/pressure on finances?

12% YES

80% NO

- Do you think you have adequate resources in the next year to provide all the services you deem necessary?

28% YES

64% NO

- Has there been any knock-on impact for any neighbouring/colleague organisations you work with?

62% YES

16% NO

- Is the current economic situation going to impact on how you commission services?

42% YES

20% NO

- Which services in your department are potentially facing efficiency savings?

All 36%

Unsure/did not answer 26%

Other 16%

Staffing 12%

None 6%

Prevention/Early intervention 4%

Based on the responses of 50 staff members working with children and young people

EARLY YEARS

Early years settings appear more concerned about budgets in 2011/12 than in the next financial year. Forty-three per cent of respondents believe their budget will decrease in 2010/11, compared with 57 per cent thinking it will fall in 2011/12.

On the flipside, close to a third (29 per cent) believe their budget will actually increase in the coming financial year, but this falls to just 14 per cent for 2011/12.

Another question found that 75 per cent of early years respondents have experienced parents accumulating debt with them, with 56 per cent claiming the situation has got worse in the past year.

One respondent says this is being tackled with a stricter approach. "Debts have increased across the sector but are being managed at an earlier stage to prevent this happening. However, that may mean children will not be accessing childcare."

Another suggests a new deposit scheme, designed to ensure that at least some of the cost of provision is recouped in cases where parents don't pay their debts, is working. "Debts this year are around £150 - much less than previous years," the respondent says.

YOUTH JUSTICE

More than half (56 per cent) of youth offending team managers responding to the survey fear that all the services they provide face potential cuts as budgets tighten.

Prevention services, such as youth inclusion programmes, are also highlighted as being at risk by close to a quarter (22 per cent) of respondents.

Meanwhile, 67 per cent believe they will have to work with a decreased budget in the next financial year (2010/11), with 100 per cent forecasting decreases in 2011/12.

One respondent fears the situation could lead to more young people entering the criminal justice system with increased numbers ending up in custody as "fewer alternatives will be on offer". "We all know this is more expensive and less successful but that's likely to be the case, especially under a new government," the respondent says.

Another fears the loss of frontline staff, leading to an inability to deliver services.

On the issue of the possibility of the Youth Justice Board devolving the cost of custody to local authorities, more than half (55 per cent) say they have explored the potential effect. Of those that have, 83 per cent say they support the idea.

YOUTH WORK

Fears that "open access" youth provision is being sidelined in favour of targeted provision is causing concern within the youth workforce.

Eighty-two per cent of youth workers responding to the survey said they are concerned that universal provision is being eroded as a result of a concentration of work aimed at tackling specific social problems.

Last May, academics Bernard Davies and Bryan Merton published a report that found youth workers were concerned that schemes offering "non-negotiable support" to young people compromise "open-access" youth work rooted in voluntary participation. Davies told CYP Now the issue remains a great concern for youth workers and is likely to be compounded as youth work budgets continue to be squeezed.

"Because open-access services receive mainstream funding, which is getting tighter and tighter, it gets squeezed and workers get diverted out to targeted services," he says. "The choice of provision young people has been impacted quite badly. It is only those that are seen to be vulnerable that are getting the priority."

When asked whether youth workers wanted a licence to practice, respondents were split with 42 per cent for a licence and 58 per cent against.