Services for vulnerable and young set to suffer badly

Liberal Democrat-led York Council has agreed huge and contentious cuts in spending on youth and social services this year which have left opposition councillors warning of the “decimation” of youth provision in the city.

The council is cutting more than £21m from it budget in a package pushed through with the support of Conservatives in the council chamber, and no closures of libraries, children’s centres or similar facilities are being proposed.

“We recognise that community facilities are what people look to the council to provide,” council leader Andrew Waller said.

However, for older and vulnerable people in York, the reduction in spending on adult services is likely to have a sizeable impact.

Staffing levels will be reduced at elderly people’s care homes, while services such as home support for the vulnerable and night domestic care are likely to be privatised to save money. Support for stroke victims will be cut, and grants supporting vulnerable people to live in their own homes reduced by 10 per cent.

Some social care charges will be increased, while new initiatives for people with learning difficulties will be limited as budgets are slashed.

Green Party councillor Denise Craghill called the budget “an attack on the most vulnerable”, warning: “They will decimate youth services, remove many services from children’s centres and dramatically reduce the support and guidance young people need to face the jobs market.”

Under the agreed plans, over £1m will be cut from children’s centre budgets, with 11 jobs lost – although no centres will close. Many other youth service budgets will be cut heavily, including funding for short breaks for disabled children and a scheme offering holiday activities for youngsters.

Programmes which will end altogether include a project targeting mental health support for young people; a career advice programme for deprived children; a supported housing project for teenage parents; and the “Yorkash” scheme which has allowed young people to bid for funding for their own community schemes.

A pilot scheme giving free nursery places to two-year-olds from the city’s most deprived families will also be discontinued, despite a council report admitting: “This pilot does impact on the most disadvantaged children – and therefore their families who won’t be able to access free childcare and the quality experience this provides.”

The council is also withdrawing its support of the Hull Road park, a green space situated in one of the most deprived parts of the city.

Weekend and evening attendants will be removed along with bedded plants and flowers, turning it into a “public open space” rather than a proper park.

Parking charges look set to be increased by 10p an hour across the board later this year.