- Conference
- 2015 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 17 February 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the massive cuts that youth and community services suffered under the 2010-2015 Government. Conference welcomes the Local Government Service Group’s 2014 ‘Damage’ report, highlighting the scale and impact of those cuts. The publicity that the report attracted shows clearly the breadth of support in the UK for high quality, properly funded youth services.
The report found that between 2012 and 2014 alone, at least 2000 youth service jobs were lost, 350 youth centres closed, 41,000 youth services places for young people were cut, and 35,000 hours of youth service outreach work disappeared. UNISON’s figures show that at least £260m has been cut from youth services since 2010. Since publication of the report, the cuts have got even worse, with many councils, for example Coventry, Staffordshire, Carmarthenshire and Havering, announcing major cuts.
Conference believes that youth services are an essential part of society, helping young people play an active role in their communities, avoid crime and substance abuse, improve their education, and gain employment. Often young people who are from the most vulnerable groups are the ones who gain most from youth services.
UNISON members participating in the ‘Damage’ report made clear the impact of youth service cuts. We will see more outsourcing, an increase in services provided by unqualified staff, more mental health problems among young people (one respondent predicted “Young people’s deaths from mental health issues will rise”), higher youth unemployment, and increased poverty. Young people will become disengaged, and marginalised by society.
Conference believes that there should be a statutory duty on relevant local authorities to provide a distinct youth service. But such a duty would be meaningless without the necessary resources, and local authorities must be properly funded by the UK’s governments, included in the devolved nations, to provide these services.
Conference further believes that the human relationships between service users and service providers are particularly vital in youth services. These services cannot function without properly trained and respected staff who can develop bonds of understanding, trust and empathy with young people. It is therefore vital that all workers providing youth services are fairly paid, properly treated at work, and given full access to training, including varied routes to the important JNC qualification.
Because youth and community workers are so dispersed, they can be a difficult group to organise, but given the scale of the challenges they face, it is vital that UNISON organises this group of workers.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive (SGE) to continue its campaign for youth services which are high quality, kept in-house, and provided by fairly paid workers. In particular, Conference calls on the SGE to:-
1)Press for an early meeting with relevant ministers in the newly-elected UK Government, whichever party or parties have formed it;
2)Press for fair funding for youth services backed by a statutory duty;
3)Ensure youth services are a key part of the broader Service Group strategies for pay and organising;
4)Ensure youth services are a key part of the Service Group’s ‘Save Our Services’ campaign;
5)Campaign to raise awareness of the broad benefits of youth services.