William Eichler 02 August 2018

Whitehall spends 95% of youth services budget on 'unpopular' programme

The Government’s National Citizen Service (NCS) is only attracting a small number of young people despite hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, local government leaders find.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has calculated that Whitehall spent £634m on the NCS between 2014/15 and 2017/18. This amounted to 95% of its youth services budget.

However, despite this substantial investment, just 12% (93,000) of eligible youngsters took part in the NCS in 2016, while in some areas take-up was as low as 4%.

The NCS is a three to four week course where young people aged between 15 and 17 years-old can live away from home and learn new skills.

Councils have also been forced to cut spending on local youth services from £650m in 2010/11 to just £390m in 2016/17 as a result of Government funding cuts.

This has resulted in more than 600 youth centres closing and nearly 139,000 youth service places lost in the UK between 2012 and 2016.

Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, called on Whitehall to devolve a portion of the NCS’ funding to local authorities.

‘Councils have been forced to cut important services for thousands of young residents in recent years as a result of increasingly squeezed budgets, so it is wrong that nearly all of the Government’s funding for youth services is being spent on a very short programme which attracts only a small number of participants,’ she said.

‘The Government needs to devolve a slice of the funding to councils so they can begin to scale back the cuts to council youth services and provide targeted support to a much wider group of young people locally all year round, whether that is giving them safe spaces to meet, diverting them away from crime or supporting them to succeed in school, training or employment.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Director of Public Health

Royal Borough of Greenwich
Up to £131,210
The Public Health department is at the heart of the council’s business. Greenwich, London (Greater)
Recuriter: Royal Borough of Greenwich

Head of Regeneration and Growth

Plymouth City Council
£68,387 - £74,411 (MFS and relocation available, pay award pending)
This is a unique opportunity to lead our award-winning development team and directly deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of projects. Plymouth, Devon
Recuriter: Plymouth City Council

Director of Adult Social Care

Wiltshire Council
£119,390 - £127,137
Join us as the Director of Adult Social Care and make a real difference to people’s lives. Wiltshire
Recuriter: Wiltshire Council

Assistant Director Planning, Performance & Engagement

East Sussex County Council
up to £97,700
With strong local communities, unspoilt countryside and vibrant coastal towns, East Sussex offers an exceptional quality of life to many. East Sussex
Recuriter: East Sussex County Council

Director of Finance & Commerce

Lancashire County Council
Up to £114,339
You will play a critical role in driving the organisation through complex change and innovation. Lancashire
Recuriter: Lancashire County Council
Linkedin Banner