The Albemarle Settlement of 1960 established the importance of an informal education-based, open and voluntary Youth Work. Just over 50 years later this tradition is in a parlous state. For over a decade New Labour undermined its ethos. Within a few short months the Coalition’s new neo-liberal public schoolboys on the block threaten to dig its grave.

The following in note form is a list of the growing casualties. It draws enormously on the article, Fighting Destruction, in January’s Rapport, but contains later information from our correspondents in the trenches across the country.

Suffolk

Intention to get rid of Youth Service & Connexions, £2.4 m in savings. 50%redundancies – 100+ full time equivalent. Left with targeted youth support as part of integrated teams with concentration on individuals. JNC terms & conditions threatened.

Norfolk

Seemingly intent on getting rid of the service altogether.

Warwickshire

The Youth Service budget slashed from five million pounds to one million with much emphasis on the voluntary sector filling the gaps.

West Sussex

Four million pounds of cuts with emphasis on commissioning to the voluntary sector.

Derbyshire

No Youth Service as such left. Youth workers moving into ‘multi-agency teams’ as youth social workers in all but name. JNC threatened.

Devon

There is a proposal to commission the whole service out. Youth strategy paper produced but refusing to consult.

Central Bedfordshire

Plan to get rid of all Youth Service, Connexions & Education Welfare & get the voluntary sector to pick it up.

Buckinghamshire

Service commissioned out.

Northamptonshire

Service commissioned out – hardly any youth work left.

Bedford

Incremental cuts to the service with attacks on JNC.

Tameside

Service moved into ‘integrated youth & family support services’ after 15 service reviews. Youth work becoming casework. Likely to go from 340 to 150/170 staff.

Bradford

All externally funded workers and council staff have been issued Section 188 notices. Voluntary sector supportive but also gearing up for commissioning.

Nottingham City

Youth Service has gone into integrated Community & Family teams – mainly working with early years. Attempt to move JNC & Craft staff to single status – told if they don’t accept terms they’ll be sacked & may not be re-engaged.

Cambridgeshire

Youth Service and Connexions to merge £1m will be cut, at least 38 jobs to go, youth clubs to close.

Leeds

Management failing to negotiate with Unions. £50m cuts in council. 50% cuts to Youth Service anticipated.

Staffordshire

Integrated Youth Service since April 2010, which became Staffordshire Young People’s Service. This is now being dismantled. Targeted youth support with detached teams/teenage pregnancy & youth offending going into ‘families first’ – social work based.

Surrey

Service commissioned out. £6m budget cut by one third. Connexions cut by 90% with only Pas for young people with learning disabilities. 49 redundancies in Youth Service.

Newcastle

No direct information on local authority situation but concerns and tensions in the voluntary sector over the cuts and their likely impact.

East Riding

Section 188 notice issued to all staff. Youth Service has been turned into IYSS. No front line cuts at present.

Lancashire

Over half the service could disappear. Going through a restructure. JNC not under threat at present. £140 – 187m cuts for authority. Connexions going.

Luton

Detached team cut. 20% cut in integrated teams. Youth centres to be shut.

Birmingham

Removed all voluntary sector funding (some will be ‘commissioned’). 30% cut. Historic underfunding now to be cut by over a half – £3m.

Wakefield

IYS headed by Social Work manager. 65% cut in face-to-face work over 3 years.

Somerset

75% cuts proposed to youth service.

Gloucestershire

Tory authority trying to ‘steamroller’ and get rid of Youth Support Service. New service from September 2011 with focus on prevention and early intervention.

Stockport

Current ‘Service for Young People’ (Youth Service, Connexions & Education Welfare) to be disestablished. A new service to be formed. All staff to reapply for posts – no job description or person spec yet. JNC threatened.

Shropshire

Has been an IYS Service for one and a half years and it didn’t work. Children& Young People’s directorate to go. £80m cuts. 27% cuts in IYSS.

Coventry

Third year of fighting against cuts. Political reassurance that there will be a Youth Service. Cuts consultations reveal a further £250,000 to be cut from Youth Service this year.

Bristol

‘Decommissioning and recommissioning’. Somewhere in the region of 45% jobs expected to go.

Leicester

Around 50% cut to youth service, end of some specialist services.

Cumbria

Very little of youth service remains.

Rhondda Cynon Taff

Many of the much needed youth centres in the valleys have closed.

LATER NEWS

Manchester has decided to outsource many of its youth services, including youth centres, to voluntary groups and other agencies. A commissioning budget of more than £1m will be retained for this purpose. But centres that are not taken on by other organisations will close.

Hull axes 4 million pounds, meaning that at least 75% of the youth service will disappear.

Lincolnshire council wants to reduce youth worker staff numbers by half, from 300 posts to about 150.

Barnet plans to close the youth service over the next four years.

Liverpool proposes youth service cuts of £5.5m – equivalent to 28% of their budget – will see some responsibilities transferred to housing associations, the police, faith groups and residents’ associations.

Oxfordshire closes 20 youth centres, retaining 5 hubs with those youth workers left losing JNC status and being redesignated as Community Hub workers.

Hackney youth service is being shut down and merged with the Youth Offending Team to create ‘Young Hackney Service’. Workers are preferred to have a youth justice background. JNC disappears.

Haringey seeks to save 2 million pounds by 2013 and closes its youth centres.

Bury’s youth service budget to be cut by £900,000, which will mean the closure of all but one youth centre, as well as greatly decreasing youth workers’ contact hours.

Bolton youth service budget to be cut to the tune of 615,000 pounds by next year.

These examples are only a reflection of the carnage. Please inform us of errors in the above notes and let us know about the situation in other/your authorities/agencies/organisations.