Two-thirds of council-funded youth centres in England have closed since 2010

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More than two-thirds of council-funded youth centres in England have closed in the past 14 years as a result of prolonged austerity in local government finances, research by Unison shows.

The union, one of Britain’s two largest, said in a report published on Saturday that a total of 1,243 youth centres had been closed in Britain since the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government came to power in 2010, leaving only 581 still in operation.

Unison warned that the collapse of youth services was leaving young people “at risk of isolation and becoming drawn into gang and knife culture” and called on the next government to prioritise rebuilding the network.

“In the past, the Youth Centre has been able to help young people get on the right path, providing guidance and advice to young people who may not have any support at home,” said Mike Short, head of local government at Unison.

He added that more than a decade of service cuts “has wiped out many of the good gains that had come before”.

Local government The UK budget was hit hardest in the aftermath of the financial crisis, as David Cameron’s government implemented austerity policies that slashed funding for the public sector.

Despite the funding boost local councils have received in recent years, overall their actual situation is still about 20% lower than in 2010, according to official data.

The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, forecast last week that Funding gap of £6.2 billion over the next two years The trend is driven by rising costs and demand for social services for adults and children, and to address homelessness.

The Local Government Association said government funding shortfalls had left councils without enough money to provide other services, with youth services being particularly hard hit.

Unison said some areas had seen double-digit closures, with London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council closing 57 centres and Birmingham City Council, which declared de facto bankruptcy last year, closing 42 centres.

The union said in the report that school closures had led to a “lost generation” of young people.

In 2022, during an unprecedented outbreak of violence between young Hindus and Muslims, community leaders and local government officials in Leicester warned that drastic cuts in youth services had left them with a limited understanding of how young people’s lives were evolving.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which oversees youth services, said it could not comment due to rules governing general election campaigns.

But officials pointed out that the government pledged in 2022 to invest £500m over three years to ensure “every young person in England has the opportunity to take part in regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities”.

Building and renovating 300 youth centers is part of that goal.