Parliament debated Youth Work, Backbench Business – What’s on – UK Parliament, highlighting the benefits of youth work

On the Purpose and Power of Youth Services

• “Youth services are a safe space outside of school, the place to broaden horizons and build meaningful connections of the outside world.”
• “For many, youth work provides a trusted adult, a guiding hand to the next step, when the next step feels important.”
• “That is the power of youth work. And at a time when hundreds of thousands of young people are struggling to find a future, it is youth workers like Charlie who are quietly pulling lives back from the brink.”

On the Crisis Facing Young People

• “Our young people are facing unprecedented challenges in a country that has, for too long, not invested in their wellbeing.”
• “The village [to raise young people] has been replaced by a patchwork of voluntary organisations with smaller and smaller amounts of council-run youth services, bidding endlessly for one-off pots of funding that will inevitably come to an end.”
• “There has been a 73% cut in funding for youth services, closure of over 1,000 youth centres… and we also have a workforce crisis.

On Policy and Accountability

• “It is time to stop the erosion of youth work, it is time to introduce statutory sufficiency benchmarks to ensure that no matter where they are… all young people have the right to youth work with measurable minimum expectations.”
• “The limited statutory protections in place for council-led youth services means that Croydon Council can shut this service down without running a proper consultation… or even consulting properly with the borough’s young people.”

Personal Testimonies

• “With a youth club, they’ve been able to spend time with a consistent staff team and build relationships with a professional and diverse staff.” — Parent testimony
• “With the support provided I hardly recognise myself… I can still hardly grasp how much Charlie’s support has impacted me and motivated me to achieve my goals.” — Young person, Ranya

On the Need for Investment

• “If we are serious about ending the youth unemployment crisis… then we must get serious about the long-term funding of youth services.”
• “This would not only give youth services the priority they deserve but also provide stability to the youth work sector… because it is not just a moral mission, it is a practical one too.”