Teenagers are clamoring for the return of youth clubs in England, study finds | Youth

Young people are “clamoring” for the return of youth clubs after drastic funding cuts left three-quarters of 16- to 19-year-olds in England without a way to connect with youth workers, according to research shared with the Guardian.

According to a study by the National Youth Agency (NYA), more than half of people in their late teens specifically want more “fun” youth activities, with older teens particularly wanting more fun. One in ten say they have no options for accessing youth work.

Youth groups are urging the next government to inject up to £1bn a year into services after the number of youth centres run by local authorities in England fell from 917 to 427 between 2012 and 2023, with council spending cut by 75%. Around 4,500 youth workers have been lost, according to estimates by the union Unison.

“The fact that more than three-quarters of respondents say there are very few or no youth work options, and more than half want to access more youth work that offers fun activities, shows us that young people are demanding more youth work opportunities,” said Alex Stutz, knowledge manager at NYA, the professional, statutory and regulatory body for youth work in England.

He said funding needs to increase to more than £800m to provide sufficient youth work provision – well over double the amount spent by councils.

Labour has announced it will spend £100m a year from existing funding commitments on policies such as a network of Young Futures hubs – billed as a Sure Start for teenagers – staffed by youth workers, mental health support workers and careers advisers. It would include a specific activity strand for young people at risk of being drawn into violent crime.

Sure Start was an initiative launched in 1998 by the last Labor government to provide children's centers and other services to support families.

“Young people have been terribly mistreated under successive Conservative governments,” Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture secretary, told the Guardian. “Youth services have been gutted, the housing crisis has worsened and too many young people are waiting too long for mental health support. Only Labour will give young people their future back.”

But UK Youth, an organisation representing more than 7,000 youth groups, said a funding increase of £1bn a year was the minimum needed, fearing that crisis-hit councils would be forced to cut their funding even further regardless of who wins the general election.

Jacob Diggle, UK Youth's head of impact, said: “The Labour Party needs to go further because they have a fantastic profession here who have proven effective in tackling the issues they say they want to tackle, but who are being left on the bench.”

The Conservatives did not respond to request for comment.

The new poll comes as global research on youth well-being shows “disconcerting declines, particularly in North America and Western Europe”, leading to calls to increase adolescents' real-world social connections to counter the negative effects of social media.

The two main reasons why young people surveyed across England wanted more youth work opportunities were that they enjoyed it and wanted to boost their confidence, closely followed by learning new things and making friends.

Seven in ten people who used youth services at least once a week said it contributed a lot or quite a bit to their well-being. And 59% of young people in their late teens said it made them feel valued and included, with the figure rising to 71% among Black respondents.

Alex Johnstone, 18, who attended a club run by Goole Youth Action in the East Riding of Yorkshire, said the club helped her overcome her osteoarthritis diagnosis and come out as transgender to the age of 14. “I feel comfortable in my environment at the youth club,” she said. “There are people there to support you. You don't have that with other activities, where you can feel quite isolated. »

“If I ever have emotional difficulties, I turn to my counselor,” said Emily Long, 18, who lived in supported accommodation and last year joined a boxing project run by the same charity that “helped me feel happier and more confident in my life.” live independently in the future.”

Youth groups estimate that more than £10 billion has been cut from funding since 2010, despite the government's own research showing a rise in bike theft, shoplifting, gun ownership and recidivism in areas where funding has been reduced.

New research into the effects of the closure of youth clubs in London has found that people aged 10 to 18 affected by the closures were 15% more likely to commit crimes, with these changes not explained by changes in policing or general austerity.

Research by UK Youth and the Institute for Government also reveals that a 78% reduction in spending on youth and children's services between 2010 and 2023 contributed to a 58% increase in spending on children in care. load and protection services.

UK Youth estimates that for every £1 invested by the government in youth work, the benefit to the taxpayer is at least £3.20.

Studies published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport also found “a clear association between participation in youth services and positive short-term outcomes in physical health and wellbeing, pro-social behaviours and education”.