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UK Youth published a new report with Institute for Government that sets out a clear path for government to unlock the power of preventative services, including youth work.
The report sets out how the new government can use the opportunity of a new parliament to shift to a preventative approach to public services that seeks to address and manage citizens’ problems before they reach crisis point. This would reap financial and political benefits by helping tackle the crises in the NHS, criminal justice, youth services and beyond – and lead to happier and healthier lives for millions.
Preventative local authority spending on services like youth clubs and children’s centres was cut by more than three-quarters (77.9%) between 2009/10 and 2022/23, while acute spending on looked after children and safeguarding services rose by more than half (58.1%) over the same period. This is bad economics and it is hurting young people.
Key findings
- Government has a key role to play in preventing harms but has consistently failed to prioritise prevention with funding and policy focus
- The government must focus on prevention or risk worse public services and higher taxes.
- The increasing scale and severity of young people’s needs requires a major response from local and national governments
- Youth work is a quintessential example of a preventative intervention
- Youth work is proven to have positive outcomes for young people in the short term (incl. improved mental health, educational attainment, and reduced crime and anti-social behaviour)
- Young people who engage in youth work become happier, healthier, and wealthier adults than those who do not
- Despite being an effective preventative service, government funding for youth work has reduced dramatically (by at least 60%) since 2010
- This briefing recommends a range of steps that government can take to make preventative services – including youth work – more accessible and sustainable.
Download a copy of Youth Work and prevention
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