The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has warned the impact of spending curbs on youth work. Unison’s The Damage report found that £60m had be cut from youth service budgets between 2012 and 2014 resulting in 2,000 fewer youth
workers and the closure of 350 youth centres. It warns that ”a crisis is developing as a result of local authorities scaling back or reconfiguring their youth services in response to spending cuts”.
Heather Wakefield, the public services union’s head of local government, said the cuts would led to more poverty, crime, unemployment, mental health issues, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among young people. “These factors will have major knock-on effects on communities, the criminal justice system, the health service and the economy,” she said.
Nushra Mansuri, professional officer at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), said social workers were likely to be among those faced with dealing with the knock-on effects of cuts to youth services, which she called “staggering”. “I think all these cuts to vital services like youth services will just mean that social services are left to absorb more and more unmet need but sadly it will have had to reach a critical point for a child or young person to receive a service and that’s the real tragedy,” she said. Read more
