UK Youth urges Government to increase spending on youth services

UK Youth has urged the Government to increase spending on youth services after alarming new figures revealed local authority expenditure has been cut more than £1 billion since 2010.

The newly published report by the YMCA, entitled Beyond the Brink?, shows local authority expenditure on youth services has fallen 73 per cent in England and 27 per cent in Wales since 2010-11, representing “a real-term cut of £1.2bn to youth services between 2010-11 to 2023-24 in England, and £16.6 million in Wales”.

Jacob Diggle, chief impact officer at national youth work charity UK Youth, said: “The latest youth work spending figures reveal a shocking picture. Three-quarters of youth work funding has been cut over the last 15 years – more than £1.2 billion.

“These cuts have led to the closure of more than half of the country’s youth clubs at a time when young people have been facing severe challenges.

“UK Youth’s research, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has proven that youth work improves young people’s mental health, educational attainment, and employment prospects in the short-term. Youth work is also proven to make people happier, healthier, and wealthier adults in the long-term.

Recent Institute for Fiscal Studies research has shown that the closure of youth clubs leads to increases in crime – including violent crime – and worse educational attainment, as much as a whole GCSE grade lower.

“Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy recently called youth work cuts a ‘national shame’, but her government continued to cut funding for youth work in the last budget by tens of millions of pounds.

“The National Youth Strategy presents an exciting opportunity for this government to unlock the potential of youth work and give young people real hope.

“The Government’s upcoming Spending Review will need to provide much stronger commitment to back-up the government’s warm words about youth services.”

UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. With an open network of more than 9,000 youth organisations and nation partners; UK Youth reaches more than four million young people across the UK and is focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever. To find out more, visit ukyouth.org

UK Youth is involved in a range of programmes designed to help young people thrive, such as outdoor learning, physical literacy, social action and employability. For more on UK Youth’s programmes, see ukyouth.org/what-we-do/programmes