The report highlights the continued challenges facing local authority expenditure on youth services across England and Wales. Despite repeated calls for action from the sector, it reveals the ongoing persistent funding shortfalls and their impact on young people and local communities. Instead of the much-needed reinvestment, YMCA’s latest report has revealed a stagnated 73% decline in funding for England (0.5% fall year-on-year), and a 6% year-on-year decline in Wales. This represents a real-terms cut of £1.2bn to youth services between 2010-11 to 2023-24 in England, and £16.6m in Wales.
Key findings of the report reveal:
- The decline in youth services expenditure in England marginally continued in the last financial year, and levels remain critically low following more than a decade of cuts.
- Council-run youth centres continue to close, and youth workers have fewer hours to support young people. In the past decade, some 643 youth centres have closed, and 1536 qualified youth workers have been lost.
- Many councils face financial pressures, with 63% anticipating further cuts to services for children, young people, and families in the coming year.
- Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England & Wales, commented: “Our latest report paints a stark picture of the ongoing crisis in youth services. Local authorities have navigated unimaginable challenges over the past decade, but there is simply nothing left to cut. Without long-term, sustainable investment in youth workers and community programmes, the next generation of young people risk losing access to the support and opportunities they need to thrive.”