Durham Council is set to cut funding for ALL 204 weekly youth club sessions despite reserves of well over £200 million!
Labour-run Durham County Council has announced all its funding for youth clubs will stop. The Council currently provides funding towards 204 sessions a week.
These plans are outrageous. We have repeatedly pleaded over many months with Labour councillors not to carry out the cuts, including asking Cllr Simon Henig and his deputy at least twice at full council meetings.
I also again asked last week at the Overview and Scrutiny board meeting for the committee to agree to put forward a proposal to provide funding to give local charities and groups time to adjust. Councillor Joe Armstrong (Langley Park/Witton Gilbert councillor) once again refused to allow a vote on the issue – he really is the most undemocratic, unreasonable councillor I have ever had the misfortune to meet.
These youth cuts are an attack on our young people. Everyone in County Durham should know that these plans are not necessary. The Council can afford to keep funding these sessions. The Council has millions of pounds allocated to nothing. Every year they increase their reserves despite saying they are spending them.
The public have said they do not want big cuts to youth services. Durham Labour are ignoring them. They are picking on people who don’t have a vote. This will cost far more in the long term as we will have to deal with a whole raft of knock on effects.
Councillors will vote on the budget on Wednesday. We will be putting forward proposals to provide funding for youth groups to compensate for the huge cut in funding by Labour.
Scrapping funding for all open access youth clubs will result in more funding needing to be found to deal with problems caused by the plans. Many youth sessions provide young people with advice on sexual health, phone and internet safety, help with bullying, sports and leisure activities, as well as simply having somewhere to go.
Most people know that youth clubs help to reduce anti-social behaviour and can give young people valuable experiences. Local youth clubs in the Framwellgate Moor area have run Duke of Edinburgh schemes which we helped fund for example. These have been immensely rewarding and successful.
If local charities and groups don’t have even basic funding from the Council, it becomes much more difficult for them to be sustainable. I am truly appalled at the short sightedness of the Council, and gobsmacked that it’s a Labour-run administration ripping apart youth provision.
And for any hardened Labour supporters and members out there reading my blog who will cry that this is down to Tory cuts, just go and take a look at the list of over 50 reserves and cash limits which the council has. Indeed only last week we were told one reserve was million pounds over the top end level required.
So when something really important like this is being cut, I can assure everyone that there is always somewhere to find some money to help to protect the service or assist in transitioning groups. Its all about priorities and these cuts are 100% Durham Labour’s fault!