North Yorkshire youth service cuts prompts gang warning from YMCA

Young people could end up turning to drugs and gangs without more investment in youth services, the YMCA Yorkshire Coast has warned.

The organisation said a lack of funding across England meant the number of local authority-run youth centres had fallen from 917 to 427 since 2010-11.

In North Yorkshire they said funding had dropped by 46%.

Liam Downey, YMCA general manager, said young people need "safe places" such as youth clubs or activity centres.

"Young people need and want a space where they can talk to trusted adults and peers, judgement-free," he said.

"That will either be on the streets, in fast food restaurants or in a safe place such as a youth club or an activity centre.

"Young people will find this support; whether through gangs and drug dealers or year-round youth services run by trusted adults, it is a matter of who has the most resources or who is there for the young person when they need that support."

The YMCA Yorkshire Coast is part of the national YMCA organisation which offers services to about 35,000 young people across England and Wales

Its 'On The Ropes' report said that government spending on services for young people in North Yorkshire totalled £7,602,384 over the last year, which they said was a 46% reduction in real-terms since 2010-11.

They said this worked out to £87.83 per five to 17-year-old in North Yorkshire in 2022-23.  

In September, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in England issued guidance for local authorities to "secure, so far as reasonably practicable, leisure-time activities and facilities for young people aged 13 to 19 and those with learning difficulties or disabilities aged 20 to 24".

The YMCA previously said they welcomed this, but added that without an increase in funding, local authorities "will be stretched to deliver any extra provision without making cuts in other places".

A DCMS spokesperson told the BBC the government was delivering "an above inflation increase in funding for councils of over £64 billion for 2024/25".

They said: "We have additionally provided significant funding for youth services, including over £1.1 billion for the youth sector In England between 2015 and 2021.

"We are also investing over £500 million to deliver the National Youth Guarantee, so that by 2025 every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer."