Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has slammed the Government after it was revealed that local youth services across Denton and Reddish had been slashed due to cuts in Government funding.
Data collected by YMCA England and Wales shows that in Tameside, local authority spending on youth services had been cut by 81%, with spending in Stockport being cut by 64%.
Nationally, more than £1.1bn has been cut from local authority budgets by the Government since 2010. The YMCA England report, titled ‘D£valued: A decade of cuts to youth services’, calls on the Government to adopt the approach utilised by the Welsh Labour Government and drive a ‘framework for a sustainable model for youth work in the country.’
Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said:
“These latest figures are absolutely shocking. You’ve got funding being cut by more than a billion pounds, and local authorities being left to scramble to try and keep things ticking over.
Youth services help kids stay engaged, healthy, and make them feel part of a community. That is so valuable, and it’s beyond disappointing that the Government doesn’t seem to recognise the importance of youth services, as the critical role they play in young people’s development.
We need to see a proper long-term funding strategy for youth services. Young people cannot and must not continue to be left behind by this Government”.
To read the ‘D£valued’ report in full click here.