Latest news with #youthservices
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Calls for more funding to save Somerset youth clubs
Young people need to have "affordable and safe" places to go to help prevent anti-social behaviour, youth workers have the last 10 years national funding for youth provision has been cut, resulting in the closure of 643 youth centres across the Nerton, from Youth Unlimited in Bridgwater, said the government needs to look at how this has affected the behaviour of young people and is calling for more funding for youth government said it is investing in youth programmes, but Somerset Council said it does not receive any direct funding for youth clubs. "It's really important that young people have somewhere to go, somewhere that is affordable, somewhere that they can meet their friends, somewhere that they are safe, somewhere where they have got someone to talk to," Ms Nerton said."The government needs to actually look at the behaviour of young people out there."Have they noticed an increase in anti-social behaviour since they shut all the youth clubs? Have they noticed that there is a lot of problem with young people's mobile phones, a lot of young people don't like going to school?"They have taken away a service young people used to trust." Ms Nerton's comments come as Chard Youth Club prepares to close after 70 years because of a lack of Wootton, a trustee of the Chard Area Youth Committee, said she is "devastated" by the decision, but ultimately the building and insurance had become too centre, which was attended by about 270 young people across the week, will close its doors on Friday."We could see year on year it was getting more and more challenging to stay open and this (closure) felt like the only option for us," she said. A recent report by the YMCA found that nationally there has been a 73% drop in funding for youth services across England – a cut of £ has left some estates and villages across the county without a place for young people to Tasha Reid said she is concerned that a lack of things for young people to do in Priorswood, Taunton, is fuelling anti-social behaviour (ASB)."There are a lot of children, some as young as 10, running around with knives, sometimes terrorising the local neighbourhood," she and Somerset Police said while it has seen an increase in anti-social behaviour in young groups within Somerset generally, possession of weapons offences remain average, with no increase for Priorswood Joe Piscina, of the Somerset West neighbourhood policing team, added: "We continue to target youths causing ASB within the area and as a force we target knife crime both through enforcement and through early intervention and engagement."He said the force is actively using social media, beat surgeries and school talks to engage with the Ms Reid said more needs to be done. She is now trying to set up her own youth club, but said it is much harder than she thought."There is a lot of funding that needs to be gained, lots of training that you need," she said."It has not been easy at all and knowing where to go to get that help has been quite hard." One of those also trying to help is Craig Lloyd, who has spent 30 years working in youth services in was made redundant when council youth cuts were made 10 years ago and has since set up his own community interest company called Youth runs six youth clubs, including one at the Recreation Centre in Bridgwater, which is funded by the town he said the sector is "fragmented" and provision is dependent on whether town and parish councils or private individuals have stepped in with funding or practical help."We've got a lot of people in small communities really trying to do their best and the difficulty they have is they are working in isolation," he added. In a statement the government said that over the next year it is investing £145m into youth programmes across the country adding: "As part of our Plan for Change we have carried out the biggest listening exercise with young people in a generation."It added that local authorities have a "statutory duty to secure sufficient leisure-time activities and facilities in line with local needs".But Somerset Council said it receives "no national funding" for youth clubs."Due to national challenges, all Somerset services are under pressure and the council continues to work with partners and local organisations to seek innovative solutions," it said."We are very encouraged by the energy and ambition within communities to work with us in this area to improve access and provision."
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Rachel Reeves to announce £500m for investment in youth services projects
Rachel Reeves will announce £500m for charities and civil society organisations to invest in youth services on Monday as the government seeks to combat accusations it is not doing enough to tackle child poverty. The chancellor will launch a new 'better futures fund', which will give money to schemes helping children struggling with mental health difficulties, school exclusion or crime, with the hope of attracting an additional £500m from local government and other organisations. The move comes amid tensions between ministers and Labour backbenchers over whether the government should remove the two-child benefit cap, at an estimated cost of more than £3.5bn a year. Reeves said: 'I got into politics to help children facing the toughest challenges. This fund will give hundreds of thousands of children, young people and their families a better chance. For too long, these children have been overlooked.' Lisa Nandy, the culture, media and sport secretary, said: 'We're bringing together government, local authorities, charities, social enterprises and philanthropists to create a powerful alliance that will transform the lives of vulnerable children and young people. 'We owe them the best start in life. Together we will break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring those who need support most aren't left behind and have the chance to reach their potential.' Reeves will announce the new fund on Monday during a visit to a school in Nandy's Wigan constituency. The money renews and expands a previous scheme launched by the Conservatives and known as the 'life chances fund', which was only given £70m. The money will be invested in the form of social impact bonds – a type of financing in which private sector organisations invest in a particular service, and then recoup their money from the government if certain targets are met. A pilot scheme to reduce reoffending in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in 2017 repaid investors at a rate of 3% a year after the project cut reoffending rates by 9%. Unlike other government contracts, the schemes' providers are allowed room to experiment with how they achieve the given objectives, but only receive a return if it works. Officials said the life chances fund had helped pay for many successful schemes, including funding for the children's charity AllChild to help deal with the pupil absenteeism crisis by putting workers in schools to help children with mental health problems. The government said more than half of those who had been part of the project had moved out of persistent absenteeism. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The former prime minister Gordon Brown urged the government last year to invest £1bn in social impact bonds for youth services. He said the new investment would 'improve children's services – from delivering new sure starts to increasing youth zones – and will complement the child poverty review as it prepares to recommend measures to tackle the root causes of child poverty across the UK'. Reeves is under pressure to use the continuing child poverty review to lift the two-child benefit cap, which many Labour MPs have publicly called for to be scrapped. Keir Starmer is understood to want to end the cap, which was imposed by the Conservatives. Doing so, however, would cost an estimated £3.6bn by the end of the parliament – money that Reeves will struggle to find given she also has to allocate funding for winter fuel payments and disability benefits after U-turns on changes to those policies.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Family hubs to open across every council in England
Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services are set to be rolled out across every council in England, ministers have announced. Early Education Minister Stephen Morgan said the move "will make a huge difference to children up and down the country" and make life easier for parents. .
The Independent
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Family hubs to be rolled out across every council in England
Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services are set to be rolled out across every council in England, ministers have announced. The Department for Education is putting £500 million targeted at disadvantaged communities into the scheme, to put a Best Start family hub in every local authority by April 2026. The Education Secretary has said that the scheme will 'give a lifeline' to families. Family hubs were originally rolled out across 75 local authorities at the start of 2024 by the then-Conservative government. Officials say that the hubs will be rolled out in every local authority by April 2026, and there will be expanded so there are up to 1,000 of them by the end of 2028. Among the services available at the locations will be birth registration, debt advice, midwifery services and support for parents who are separating or have separated. Officials hope that the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social care. Bridget Phillipson said: 'It's the driving mission of this government to break the link between a child's background and what they go on to achieve – our new Best Start family hubs will put the first building blocks of better life chances in place for more children. 'I saw firsthand how initiatives like Sure Start helped level the playing field in my own community, transforming the lives of children by putting in place family support in the earliest years of life, and as part of our plan for change, we're building on its legacy for the next generation of children. 'Making sure hard-working parents are able to benefit from more early help is a promise made, and promise kept – delivering a lifeline of consistent support across the nation, ensuring health, social care and education work in unison to ensure all children get the very best start in life.' The Conservatives have said that the announcement 'brings little clarity on what's genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services'. Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: 'That lack of clarity is part of a wider pattern. 'This is a Government defined by broken promises and endless U-turns.' Charity Save The Children has said it is 'pleased' to see the Government 'making it easier for families to get the help they need'. Dan Paskins, executive director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save The Children UK, said: 'Focusing on family services for the under-fives will be vital in securing better outcomes for children, and we welcome the Best Start In Life announcement. 'We know from our work in local communities that bringing together parenting, healthcare and education support services in one place is an approach which works, so we are pleased to see the UK Government making it easier for families to get the help they need. 'With ministers now demonstrating an increasingly ambitious plan for children in the UK, we hope this drive for change continues when the child poverty strategy is released in autumn. 'This must include scrapping the two-child limit to Universal Credit, which is the only meaningful way to reduce the UK's record child poverty rate.' The head of the NAHT union welcomed the move. General secretary Paul Whiteman said: 'This is a positive step forward towards ensuring all children get the best start – and we are pleased to see tangible investment following this week's announcement of new targets for school readiness.'
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Family hubs to open in every council in England
Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services will be rolled out across every local authority in England, the government has announced. The £500 million plan aims to support 500,000 more children in the most disadvantaged areas. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the "Best Start" family hubs would "give a lifeline" to Conservatives said there was "little clarity on what's genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services". The idea of a family hub dates back to the early 2000s when New Labour introduced "Sure Start" centres - focused on supporting young families with early education, childcare and health advice. Many closed after 2010 when funding was cut by the Tories. But last year the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak rolled out 400 new "family hubs" offering a wider range of services across 75 local authorities. Now Labour say the hubs will be in every local authority by April 2026, before expanding them to up to 1,000 by the end of 2028. They will offer services ranging from birth registration and midwifery support to debt advice and youth clubs. Officials hope the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social Phillipson said: "It's the driving mission of this government to break the link between a child's background and what they go on to achieve - our new 'Best Start' family hubs will put the first building blocks of better life chances in place for more children."Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said the lack of clarity about what was actually new was "part of a wider pattern"."This is a government defined by broken promises and endless U-turns," she Save The Children has said it is "pleased" to see the government "making it easier for families to get the help they need".Dan Paskins, executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save The Children UK, said: "We know from our work in local communities that bringing together parenting, healthcare and education support services in one place is an approach which works, so we are pleased to see the UK government making it easier for families to get the help they need."
