Publication from Siân Berry: London's lost youth services

Services and facilities to support young people in London have been under threat for some time. Cash-strapped borough councils are facing a huge squeeze in their finances. With youth centres, outreach and after-school activities not a statutory function of local councils, cuts have fallen hard on these services.

My findings in this briefing, using data supplied by borough councils across London, show that our youth services have lost large amounts of funding, buildings and staff since 2011.

Key findings in the report show:

• At least £22 million has been cut from council youth service budgets across London
• The average council has cut its youth service budget by nearly £1 million – an average of 36 per cent
• More than 30 youth centres have been closed
• At least 12,700 places for young people have been lost
• Council youth service employment has been reduced on average by 39 per cent
• Funding to voluntary sector youth work has also gone down – by an average of 35 per cent in councils that were able to provide data