Blog: Tags > Young People
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
Youth workers rally to protect services for young people
Protesters and young people furious about youth service cuts drowned out a Birmingham City Council cabinet meeting today. The protesters gathered at Central Library before marching the short distance to the Council House accompanied by a backdrop of drums and horns, ... Read more
FEBRUARY 08, 2024
Birmingham council protest over cuts to city’s youth services
Protesters will march with drums from the Library of Birmingham to a rally outside Council House on Tuesday (13 February) over plans to slash funding for the city’s youth services in half. When: Meeting 0900 hrs 13 February at Birmingham Library ... Read more
FEBRUARY 02, 2024
Centre for Young Lives launched
Anne Longfield CBE, Chair of the Commission on Young Lives, and former Children’s Commissioner for England, has launched the Centre for Young Lives. The Centre for Young Lives’ is a new, dynamic, innovative, independent think tank and delivery unit focused on ... Read more
NOVEMBER 10, 2023
The closure of youth centres and lack of access to services has led to an increased likelihood of children being involved in crime, major research by the National Youth Agency (NYA) has found. The social cost of youth work cuts report ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 04, 2023
Youth charities complete merger
Two youth charities based in the North East of England have merged in an effort to strengthen their support for youth across the region. NE Youth, which runs youth programmes across 12 local authority areas, has today added the Northumbria Coalition ... Read more
AUGUST 20, 2023
Inquiry seeks views on how cost of living affects young people's wellbeing
A call for evidence on how the cost-of-living crisis has affected young people's health has been launched as part of an inquiry by British Youth Council’s (BYC) youth select committee. The committee is seeking views through written evidence submissions, to learn ... Read more
AUGUST 01, 2023
Empowering Youth for the Future of Work
The APPG for Youth Affairs officially launched their report Empowering Youth for the Future of Work report in Parliament last month. The APPG hoped to explore the barriers to youth employment, the impact of skills gaps and identify potential solutions for ... Read more
MAY 11, 2023
Former youth worker turned actor highlights damage done by cuts
Actor Ben Bailey Smith is fronting a short film produced by UK Youth to highlight the “damaging impact of cuts to youth services” as the cost of living continues to rise. The film features Bailey-Smith, star of BBC drama The Split, and ... Read more
APRIL 20, 2023
Report finds poor social housing is pushing young people into homelessness
A new report from Centrepoint exploring the housing aspirations of young people with experiences of homelessness has found that vulnerable young people are being pushed into homelessness by overcrowding and lack of safety in local authority housing. Centrepoint’s new report, Somewhere to ... Read more
APRIL 18, 2023
OFSTED uplifts Birmingham Children’s Services to GOOD
Children’s services in Birmingham have been praised by Ofsted inspectors following years of turmoil, which saw the department taken over by a children’s trust five years ago. The city’s children’s services previosly rated “inadequate” by the inspectorate for more than a ... Read more
MARCH 01, 2023
Wales spending twice as much as England on youth services
YMCA’s latest study into expenditure on youth services highlights a stark disparity in per-head spending between Wales and England. Analysis released shows that children and young people in Wales receive more than double the real-terms spend per-head than those in England, ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
Alarming Rise In Teenage Suicides
Campaigners warn of an 'Alarming' Rise in teenage suicides and are calling for dedicated mental health support in schools after figures revealed that suicide rates among 15- to 19-year-olds in England have reached their highest point in 30 years. Data from ... Read more
AUGUST 15, 2022
Child trafficking referrals reach record levels
The number of potential victims of modern slavery referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) or via the Duty to Notify (DtN) process has reached record levels. The figures have been released by the Home Office just weeks after Sir Mo Farrah ... Read more
JULY 28, 2022
De Montford drops JNC Youth and Community Development Course
De Montford University (DMU) has suspended its youth work and community development course for 2022/23 due to a drop in intake levels compounded by pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic. The three-year undergraduate course, which is professionally recognised by the Joint Negotiating ... Read more
JULY 14, 2022
Cost of living crisis threatens pre-pandemic fall in child deprivation
Deprivation levels among disadvantaged families seen were falling before the Covid-19 pandemic but now there are concerns that these reductions could be reversed by the cost-of-living crisis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published its annual living standards, poverty and ... Read more
JULY 11, 2022
The education select committee, consisting of cross-party MPs and chaired by Robert Halfon MP is calling on the government to improve the educational outcomes of children in residential care after an inquiry finds a “host of indefensible system failings”. The report ... Read more
MAY 18, 2022
London’s violence reduction unit (VRU) has announced plans to double the number of specialist youth workers placed in the capital’s police stations. £3m in funding has been announced to expand its Engage programme over the next three years to embed youth ... Read more
APRIL 08, 2022
Government urged to do more to protect children from child criminal exploitation
Children and Young People Now report that a coalition of children’s charities has called on the Education Secretary to better protect children facing school exclusion from child criminal exploitation. The charities have written to the Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, arguing that ... Read more
MARCH 02, 2022
DCMS Youth Policy Review published ... but falls short
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published its review of youth policy which it says includes plans to encourage more people into the youth work sector, better co-ordinate funding across government departments, improve access to services ... Read more
MARCH 01, 2022
Kickstart scheme failing to support enough young people
The government’s Kickstart jobs scheme has been blighted by “chaotic” early delivery, low take-up and long delays in filling vacancies, according to a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). According to an evaluation of the first year of Kickstart by ... Read more
DECEMBER 30, 2021
Out of Harm's Way - a new care system to protect young people at risk of exploitation
Former children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield has warned that the current children’s social care system is “making it too easy for criminals to exploit our teenagers” in her new role as chair of the Commission on Young Lives. The report ... Read more
DECEMBER 10, 2021
SHAMEFUL OUTSOURCING OF TURING SCHEME TO CAPITA
Education unions and MPs have criticised a government decision to outsource a £6.27m contract to run the Turing Scheme - which replaced Erasmus+ - to private firm Capita. The Turing Scheme was introduced by the Department for Education as a replacement ... Read more
DECEMBER 02, 2021
Youth Workers in Emergency Departments reduce violence
Children and Young People Now report that schemes that place youth workers in hospital A&E departments show “real promise” in keeping children safe from involvement in violence. The Youth Endowment Foundation (YEF) has added evidence about A&E navigator programmes, including Redthread’s ... Read more
DECEMBER 01, 2021
YOUNG PEOPLE URGED TO FIGHT FOR GREATER INVESTMENT IN YOUTH SERVICES
The Youth Ask campaign is encouraging young people are being encouraged to write to the Prime Minister and call for greater investment in youth work and describes the offer for youth services made in October’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) as ... Read more
DECEMBER 01, 2021
The charity predicts that as many as 29,000 under-25s face being homeless this year and if the projections are accurate, figures could reach the highest level since 2016, when it started recording these figures. Factors including the end of furlough, a ... Read more
NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Step Together scheme launched in attempt to keep children and young people safer
A new scheme has been launched in Birmingham to help keep children and young people safe on their journey to and from school. The Step Together project has initially partnered with Erdington Academy in Birmingham and will see youth workers based ... Read more
NOVEMBER 02, 2021
Youth services suffer ‘stealth cut’ of more than £400m
Rishi Sunak has been accused of including a 'stealth cut' to funding for youth services worth more than £400m over the next three years despite promises of levelling up. Sunak’s third budget included a slew of spending promises, as the Conservatives ... Read more
OCTOBER 28, 2021
Sector unites with YouthAsk campaign
The Youth Sector requires urgent investment in order to safeguard the futures of millions of young people across Britain. This Government’s commitment to invest in young people through the Youth Sector has, as yet, been unmet. In September 2019, the flagship ‘Youth ... Read more
OCTOBER 27, 2021
Homeless young people and care leavers hit hard after £20 uplift cut
New research by Centrepoint has found that young people with a history of homelessness and those who have left the care system are going to bed hungry since the government cut the £20 universal credit uplift with vulnerable under 25s ... Read more
OCTOBER 11, 2021
Youth Work: A Manifesto Revisited – at the time of Covid and beyond
Youth & Policy has published Bernard Davies' Youth Manifesto for 2021 in which he considers what has changed since previous versions of the Manifesto were published back in 2005 and 2015 locating his discussion of youth work’s defining features in ... Read more
AUGUST 26, 2021
Growing numbers of British children are unhappy with their lives
A report from the Children’s Society shows that modern life continues to erode the happiness of young people. Dissatisfied with school, friendships and how they look, children deserve drastic change. The tenth annual Good Childhood Report found that 7% of 10 ... Read more
AUGUST 16, 2021
Young people to be hit hardest if UC uplift scrapped
Over 620,000 families with children have started claiming Universal Credit since the start of the pandemic, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions – a 51% increase. Youth homelessness charity Centrepoint reports that claimants under the age ... Read more
AUGUST 12, 2021
London Youth Services Funding Cut By £240m Since 2011 Riots
Green Party London Assembly member Sian Berry finds that youth service funding across London as a whole has been cut by 44 per cent in the last decade. London’s youth service cuts 2011-2021: a blighted generation finds that youth service funding ... Read more
AUGUST 05, 2021
Chair of Care Review sets out priorities
In a letter to the Secretary of State and Chief Secretary, Josh MacAlister, Chair of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has set out three priorities for the upcoming Spending Review highlighting areas where investment is urgently needed. Outlining that ... Read more
AUGUST 04, 2021
APPG for Youth Affairs calls for long term investment in youth services
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Youth Affairs led an extensive inquiry on youth work, publishing its final report and recommendations in 2019. Two years-on, it has published its interim report into the progress across statutory and voluntary youth services. It found that "While ... Read more
JULY 12, 2021
MPs call for an end to the use of handcuffs on children in care
Ministers are backing the Hope Instead of Handcuffs campaign, launched by Emily Aklan, chief executive of children’s social care provider Serenity Welfare, which is calling for legislation allowing a child in care to be handcuffed during secure transportation to be scrapped. Children ... Read more
JULY 12, 2021
More girls being recruited and horrifically abused by county lines drug gangs
Girls and young women are being deliberately and increasingly recruited into drug-dealing ‘county lines’ gangs and subjected to horrific acts of sexual violence, the Local Government Association warns. They say that the menace of county lines has been fuelled by the ... Read more
JUNE 09, 2021
Government told to invest in youth services and to stop robbing working class kids of their futures.
MPs have voted for a Labour Party motion criticising the government’s plans to help children and young people recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The motion, tabled by shadow education secretary Kate Green, called for increased investment in funding for education catch-up ... Read more
APRIL 26, 2021
Young people are bearing the brunt of the UK's COVID jobs crisis
Young workers have been hit the hardest by rising unemployment during the Covid pandemic, with just over half of people who dropped off the UK payroll in the last year were under 25 and those under the age of 35 ... Read more
FEBRUARY 28, 2021
The impact of Covid-19 on England’s youth organisations
UK Youth has found that the youth sector is well-placed to support young people to overcome the increased challenges they face due to the Covid-19 crisis. However, Covid-19 restrictions, the financial implications of the pandemic and a variety of barriers ... Read more
FEBRUARY 09, 2021
Children's Mental Health Week and the toll of Covid
Unite Live writes: This week is Children’s Mental Health Week – a campaign to raise awareness around the ever increasing decline in our children’s mental health. In her fourth annual report on the state of children’s mental health services in England, ... Read more
FEBRUARY 08, 2021
Young people still not being kept safe
A year after the Prime Minister promised to “cut the head off the snake” of county lines, thousands of children are still not being kept safe. That’s the conclusion of the report published by Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, which ... Read more
JANUARY 23, 2021
Young people struggling with life amid pandemic
Research finds that four in 10 young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) have said they feel "unable to cope with life" since the start of the pandemic. The Prince’s Trust Tesco Youth Index found that a quarter of ... Read more
DECEMBER 15, 2020
Greenwich Council revokes plans to close schools early for Christmas after governmental threats of legal action. The Leader of Greenwich wrote to head teachers last weekend advising them to close schools from today (15 December) amid concerns over the rising number ... Read more
DECEMBER 04, 2020
Housing unaffordable for young people
End Youth Homelessness (EYH) has found that the prohibitive costs associated with private renting are forcing the most vulnerable young people into desperate situations and COVID-19 has pushed even more young people closer to homelessness. According to research conducted by Yorkshire ... Read more
NOVEMBER 09, 2020
Access to democracy for 16 & 17 year olds
Cat Smith MP, Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement & Young People has asked for your support in lobbying for the passage of an important cross-party amendment to the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill 2019-21, seeking to improve electoral registration rates among 16 ... Read more
NOVEMBER 02, 2020
Unite is ambitious for the future of youth work!
Get involved in Youth Work Week! Youth Work Week starts today and it’s an opportunity for us all to raise the profile of youth work and the union! This year’s theme is ‘Ambitious for Youth Work’ and provides a great opportunity for ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
Exploitation by county lines increased during lockdown
The most recent modern slavery statistics, published by the Home Office, shows an increase in exploitation by county lines gangs during lockdown seeing the number of potential child victims of criminal exploitation overtake adults for the first time. The government ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 03, 2020
Children exploited by gangs at most risk of exclusion
As schools throw open their doors for the mass return of pupils, Just for Kids, a children’s legal charity has warned that a spike in exclusions in September could “disproportionately impact” children and young people exploited by county lines drugs ... Read more
AUGUST 25, 2020
Covid-19 and the impact on young people’s health
‘Inside Out’, published today by the National Youth Agency highlights a rise in mental health issues among young people, providing evidence of the disproportionate impact the pandemic has on young people’s health. It argues that young people, while at lower risk ... Read more
AUGUST 20, 2020
If now isn’t the time to invest in youth work when is?
An article in yesterday’s Guardian, Youth work in lockdown: 'I flagged a new case of neglect every week' highlights yet again the vital work being delivered by youth workers supporting young people during Covid19. Written by Leo Casey, a youth work ... Read more
JULY 07, 2020
Falling through the gaps - Young people and Covid-19
Children’s Commissioner for England warns of a ‘lost generation’ with tens of thousands of England’s teenagers at risk of “falling off the radar” of schools and local authority children’s services as the country eases out of lockdown. The new analysis published by ... Read more
JUNE 10, 2020
Labour calls for statutory instrument to be scrapped
Parliament will today debate emergency changes to legislation that relax and remove local authorities' duties to vulnerable children, with Labour calling for the controversial measures to be scrapped. The Adoption and Children (Coronavirus)(Amendment) Regulations 2020, also known as Statutory Instrument 1445, ... Read more
JUNE 08, 2020
Youth organisations face bleak future under Covid-19 restrictions
New poll finds that nearly a third of youth organisations and clubs face closure by the end of the year if current Covid-19 restrictions remain in place. A poll of youth organisations, schools and grass roots clubs taking part in programmes ... Read more
JUNE 02, 2020
New report from the NYA - Hidden in plain sight
Building on the insights from their ‘Out of Sight?’ research, which focused on the vulnerabilities of young people caused or exacerbated by COVID-19, a new report from the National Youth Agency (NYA) shows that gangs have adapted to COVID-19, changing ... Read more
MAY 22, 2020
Unite calls for gov’t to support apprentices and young people amid crisis
At a time when industry must look to the future to rebuild the economy after the coronavirus crisis, employers are taking a short-term view by axeing apprenticeships. A new poll out today (May 20) from the Sutton Trust has found that ... Read more
MAY 21, 2020
Under Pressure: children’s and young people’s services
New analysis by The Children’s Society, Barnardo’s, Action for Children, NSPCC and the National Children’s Bureau reveals the true impact of a toxic cocktail of cuts and a soaring demand for help. The two reports published, Children’s and young people’s services: ... Read more
MAY 13, 2020
Unions set out five tests government and colleges must meet before staff and students can return
Staff and student safety must be guaranteed before colleges can reopen, said trade unions today (Wednesday) as they set out five tests that must be met by government and colleges. Unions representing staff working in further education colleges have called for ... Read more
MAY 13, 2020
Covid-19 and the impact on vulnerable children
The UK could face “losing a generation of young people” to poverty and poor mental health following the coronavirus crisis, the education select committee has heard. Giving evidence on the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable children, Javed Khan, chief executive ... Read more
APRIL 29, 2020
How long will young people be Out of Sight?
A new report published today by the National Youth Agency and the children’s commissioner, shows that there in are 3 million vulnerable eight to 19-year-olds needing support with a range of issues because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The figures were estimated ... Read more
APRIL 20, 2020
NCS Trust and The Challenge agree an out of court settlement of £2.8 m
The National Citizen Service Trust and The Challenge have reached a £2.8m out-of-court settlement in relation to a long running dispute relating to unfilled places on the NCS’s 2019 programme. The Challenge issued High Court proceedings against NCS Trust last August claiming £26m for breach of contract ... Read more
MARCH 20, 2020
Resources and advice for those working in the children and young people's sector
Children’s charities, organisations and workers' unions have issued advice to professionals working to support children amid the coronavirus pandemic. Key topics include advice for social workers, early years, and education professionals classed as key workers in combating the crisis. Children and Young People Now ... Read more
MARCH 10, 2020
MPs warn youth services cuts are increasing knife crime
Councils should have a legal duty to deliver a minimum level of youth services to help prevent knife crime, MPs have argued in a new report published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Knife Crime & Violence Reduction. The report ... Read more
MARCH 06, 2020
'Unacceptable' exit package for former NCS Trust chief vetoed
Ministers from the Department Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) have begun a governance review of the organisation after a newspaper claimed that outgoing chief executive Michael Lynas was given £15,000 to help him retrain. The DCMS has launched a governance ... Read more
MARCH 05, 2020
An equal world is an enabled world
International Women's Day 2020 is celebrated on Sunday 8th March and this year's theme is #EachforEqual, drawn from a notion of 'Collective Individualism' where working together, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender equal world. We can ... Read more
FEBRUARY 21, 2020
New research exposes the hidden child workforce shows that young carers are undertaking £12,000 of unpaid work every single year! The research by UK charity Action for Children shows young carers spend on average 25 hours a week caring for loved ... Read more
FEBRUARY 14, 2020
Knife crime: Stop and search not the answer, says youth committee
The Youth Select Committee concludes that the knife crime epidemic is fuelled by cuts to vital services. The report highlights concern with the Government’s increasingly punitive approach to tackling knife crime stating that serious youth violence such as knife crime is a symptom of various underlying ... Read more
JANUARY 09, 2020
Retail expert to take top job at the NCS Trust
Mark Gifford, Director for Shop and Trade at Waitrose will become the new chief executive of the NCS Trust in March after Michael Lynas announced that he would be stepping down last year. A novice to the voluntary sector, Gifford will ... Read more
OCTOBER 24, 2019
Shadow minister criticises DCMS for withholding data on NCS Trust spending
Vicky Foxcroft, Labour shadow minister for civil society, has criticised the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport after it declined to reveal details of any underspend by the NCS Trust. The NCS Trust is the royal charter body that was ... Read more
OCTOBER 22, 2019
More trouble ahead for NCS Trust
With The Challenge already suing the NCS trust for £22m, the DCMS has revealed that it has received a separate complaint from a small NCS delivery partner. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has revealed that it received a ... Read more
OCTOBER 10, 2019
National Citizen Service accused of "mismanagement and failure of leadership"
The National Citizen Service Trust is being sued by its largest provider, The Challenge, for at least £20m with claims it has breached contracts in seven regions. The Challenge, which in August lost a contract believed to be worth more than £60m a ... Read more
OCTOBER 08, 2019
Only Young Once - Labour commits to rebuilding a universal youth service
Labour has unveiled its vision for a universal youth service today, as fresh research reveals that youth services have been decimated by £1bn worth of cuts. ‘Only Young Once’ sets out Labour’s plan to rebuild youth services across the country as ... Read more
OCTOBER 04, 2019
Are knife crime orders the solution to rising levels of violent crime?
Tough new laws to tackle knife crime could harm relationships between police and local communities and fail to properly consider the needs of vulnerable groups of young people, children's services leaders have warned. In its response to the Home Office consultation on knife crime ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
World Suicide Prevention Day is on Social Media
The annual world suicide prevention day, organised by the The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) takes place today (10th September) The IASP was founded by the late Professor Erwin Ringel and Dr. Norman Farberow in 1960, and now includes professionals and volunteers ... Read more
AUGUST 14, 2019
Government’s latest knife crime initiative “wrong.”
The campaign to brand chicken shop take away boxes with #knifefree has been launched by the Home Office in response to the rising levels of knife crime. The boxes will replace packaging in chains such as Morley’s, Chicken Cottage and Dixy Chicken ... Read more
AUGUST 01, 2019
400 jobs affected as largest NCS provider confirms departure from the scheme
The National Citizen Service Trust, the royal charter body that runs the scheme on behalf of the government, confirmed that it would no longer contract its largest provider, The Challenge, after it had been 'unable to reach an agreement on a requirement to ... Read more
JULY 31, 2019
Further calls for investment in a ‘statutory youth service’
The Serious Youth Violence report published by the parliamentary home affairs committee has called for local authority funding for youth services to be statutory, ring-fenced and focused on preventing young people becoming caught up in violence. The inquiry highlights the connection between deprivation ... Read more
JULY 25, 2019
Parliamentary debate on the role and sufficiency of youth work
A general debate was held on the role and current sufficiency of youth services in the UK was held yesterday in the House of Commons as a response to the publication of the inquiry by the all-party parliamentary group on ... Read more
JULY 19, 2019
REVIEWING THE STATUTORY GUIDANCE - YOUTH WORK PROVISION
As already reported, a review of the statutory guidance for council youth service provision has been launched by Civil society minister Mims Davies saying the review would focus on services to reduce social isolation among young people. (Read more here) Announcing ... Read more
JULY 11, 2019
Review launched into statutory guidance for Local Authorities on providing youth services
New deal for all young people On July 25th, Lloyd Russell Moyle MP and others will lead a three hour debate in Parliament on the findings of the report and wider issues. Anyone passionate about youth work and youth services is invited to ... Read more
JUNE 27, 2019
Welsh Government more than doubles youth work funding
The Welsh Government chose Youth Work Week to recognise the important and vital role of youth work and youth services and launched a new Youth Work Strategy and a commitment to more than double youth service funding to over £10 ... Read more
MAY 28, 2019
Tackling serious violence needs real investment in preventative services!
Unite has submitted its response to the Home Office's draft plans for a new legal duty to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence. Whilst Unite is supportive in principle with taking a public health approach to tackling serious ... Read more
MAY 23, 2019
Voices need to be heard. The young and people supporting them must be recognised.
For many years the government and local authorities have neglected the Youth; we’re expected to be docile, to not question their authority or our rights, and allow our futures to be decided for us or have them be destroyed. Subsequently ... Read more
MAY 16, 2019
Calls for action to build and promote positive body image
The UK Youth Parliament has been campaigning to bring about social change since 1999. Each year, following the Make Your Mark ballot and a vote by Members of Youth Parliament in the House of Commons, they set about campaigning on ... Read more