Prospects worsen for group facing uncertain future

Already facing a future of falling living standards and mountains of long-term debt due to costly university tuition fees, young people must now also contend with a raft of savage cuts to the services they rely on today.

Almost every council in the region is cutting spending drastically on youth services, meaning scores of projects face the axe.

One of the hardest-hit areas will be York, where the Liberal Democrat-led council is axing swathes of popular schemes including short breaks for disabled youngsters, career advice for deprived children and a supported housing project for teenage parents.

Opposition councillor Denise Craghill said the cuts will “decimate youth services” in the city.

Savage cuts will hit youth projects in Wakefield, too, including projects aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy, youth crime and preventing the spread of extremism. Barnsley, Rotherham and Hull are also slashing spending, while North Lincolnshire says it will end universal youth services and provide only for the “most vulnerable”.

Union leaders are now trying to rally opposition to youth cuts across the country.

Doug Nicholls, Unite’s national officer for youth workers, said yesterday: “With councils already slashing funding to the youth service and closing youth clubs and centres, urgent action to stop these appalling cuts is needed.”

While actual schools funding has been ring-fenced by the Government, budgets will be increasingly stretched.

In Sheffield, for example, schools will be expected to pay the council for a wide variety of services from their budgets which the council previously provided for free.

Much of the work local authorities undertake to raise standards in schools will also now end. Doncaster Council, for example, is cutting its school improvement service by some £3.5m.

Many councils are also cutting support services to schools such as music, anti-bullying and mental health services. Some are raising school dinner prices.

And home-to-school transport services are facing severe cuts, with authorities such as North Yorkshire tightening their rules on which pupils receive free school bus services. North Lincolnshire is scaling back its school bus services to the “legal minimum”.

Younger children and their families will also be hit in some parts.

Funding for Surestart children’s centres will be reduced in areas such as North East Lincolnshire Council, which is cutting some £3.3m-a-year from its Surestart budget over the next four years.

The authority insists none of its 14 centres will actually close, though opening hours will be slashed, staff numbers cut and building use “rationalised”.

York is cutting its children’s centres budget by £1m, though again all existing centres will be maintained. Bradford Council is closing one of its family centres.

And Richmondshire says every children’s play area in the district will have to close if local parish councils do not agree to take responsibility for their care.