Publication from Siân Berry: A Blighted Generation

The shock of devastating riots on the streets of London in the summer of 2011 should have prompted investment in tackling the causes of this level of alienation and disturbance. Instead, austerity policies already under way were allowed to intensify, squeezing council budgets even harder in the years that followed.

This report looks back at the last decade of cuts to council youth services in London, looking at a period from 2011-12 up to the present day.

The young people who first pushed me into this work are adults. A 16-year-old in 2016 is now 21, and those who were in their late teens in 2011 are now nearing their thirties. A whole generation of young people has been let down and deserved better.

My research shows that budget cuts have levelled off in recent years, with some councils reinvesting since 2017-18 and the Mayor creating the Young Londoners Fund – worth £70 million so far – to boost youth services.

However, many councils are still cutting back on youth workers and youth centres, with over 130 youth facilities closed in the past decade.

The last 18 months have been dominated by the coronavirus crisis, which has brought further pressures on London’s young people. Many have lost time from education, and lost many chances to develop as citizens, through social lives, friendships and job and training opportunities, as well as crucial lost opportunities for support and mentoring from youth workers.

As we slowly emerge from the pandemic, we must not forget that, beneath its effects on the lives of our young people, London’s youth services are still bearing long-term losses.

These cuts in vital and valuable services will continue to have an impact unless new investment in youth work is part of both the Mayor and the Government’s priorities for recovery funding.

• Over £36 million has been cut from annual youth service budgets between 2011-12 and 2021-22, a fall of 44 per cent.
• In total, across the decade, over £240 million has not been invested in young Londoners by councils due to reductions in budgets.
• More than 600 full-time youth worker jobs have been cut by London councils, reducing the average provision from 48 youth workers to just 15.
• From a starting point of nearly 300 youth centres across London, over 130 have closed.