Out Of Service
29 Jan, 2020
Figures uncovered today by YMCA reveal the true extent of cuts to youth services funding by local authorities in England and Wales since 2010, with an allocation of just under £429m in2018/19, compared to £1.4bn in 2010/11 - a real terms decline of 70%.

Discovered as part of a report into local authority expenditure on youth services in 2018/19, these latest figures add to almost a decade of devastating cuts as spending reaches its lowest point in a generation.

Every region of England has each seen funding for youth services cut by more than 60% since 2010, including North Tyneside where funding has fallen by 81.7%

COMMENTS FROM A YOUTH WORK MANAGER- Don Irving, Youth Work manager of YMCA North Tyneside said:

“Youth services exist to provide a sense of belonging, a safe space, and the opportunity for

young people to enjoy being young. However, for almost a decade now local authorities have

struggled under the weight of funding pressures, meaning youth services in north Tyneside

are being forced to endure continued and damaging cuts.

“Without drastic action to protect funding and significantly re-invest in youth services, we are

condemning young people in North Tyneside to become a lonely, lost generation with nowhere

to turn.”

The day-to-day impact of youth services often goes unnoticed by the public, but the consequences of these cuts cannot be underestimated. Cases of knife crime, mental health difficulties and isolation among young people continue to rise, while the number of services available to positively intervene and prevent such cases continues to decline.

Each year YMCA supports more than 33,500 young people through our youth work, with almost 8,000 participants involved in crime prevention and avoidance programmes.

In response to such overwhelming funding cuts, YMCA North Tyneside is asking the public to show their support in making young people the central focus of government action. By reinstating youth services funding to 2010/11 real term levels and introducing a national youth services strategy, government would enable local authorities to deliver necessary youth services locally and support their communities.

 

YMCA North Tyneside are asking the public to show their commitment by signing an online petition which can be found at www.ymca.org.uk/youth and raising the issue of youth services with their local MP. Together, we can ensure that the services, which provide a sense of belonging and keep young people safe, do not become a thing of the past.

For more information about our charitable causes, and the work we do with young people, please click here.

Read more news stories:

Picnic In The Park 2023

Picnic In The Park 2023

Last Saturday we held our very first ‘Picnic in the Park’ and what a day it was!  Nearly 4,000 North Tyneside locals passed through the newly refurbished Northumberland Square on the day and joined in our festivities. We couldn't have asked for a better way to...

read more
Sage-ing in our Allotment

Sage-ing in our Allotment

Our North Shields community allotment has never looked better thanks to the amazing staff from Sage who have volunteered their time not once, but a few times now, to help us clear and revamp the space! We cannot express how grateful we are for their hard work and...

read more
Getting Quizzy With It

Getting Quizzy With It

Last Friday night we held our first-ever successful Quiz Night fundraiser in Cafe 1879! Thanks to the participation and support of over 45 members of the community, we raised enough money from the ticket sales and raffle held on the night to fund three more community...

read more
Fender Comes Around

Fender Comes Around

Last Sunday we welcomed the cast and crew of Liam Fender’s new music video - Time Comes Around, into Cafe 1879. It was an honour to see our cafe so vibrant and Bedford Street become home to obscure sights, Shields’ finest, and lots of passers-by looking confused. It...

read more
The Journey Begins

The Journey Begins

After leaving school in 2021, I started at YMCA North Tyneside as an HR Apprentice. I loved the idea of working for a charity and making a difference in my local community but at the time I didn’t even realise the amount of extraordinary work YMCA do in our local area...

read more

Help us transform the lives vulnerable young people in North Tyneside

Whether you are able to donate funds or even some of your time, you help us transform the lives of vulnerable young people in North Tyneside.

DONATE

FUNDRAISE

VOLUNTEER

Got a question?