Northumberland County Council's Conservative administration has been criticised after it was revealed that 12 youth workers would be made redundant.
Opposition leaders have said the plans will have a significant impact on youth provision across the county and claimed they are at odds with previous statements from the council that argued there would be no cuts to front-line services.
The administration has said resources will be channelled into the Family Hubs model, with a number of new youth support workers set to be employed - but third-sector youth organisation leaders have warned that sessions will be cancelled and young people turned away due to a lack of staff and funding.
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The leader of Northumberland Labour, Coun Scott Dickinson, said work with youth organisations should remain part of the council's remit.
He said: “The Conservative leader of the council has been making speeches saying there would be no front-line cuts, yet we’ve discovered that youth support services in Blyth, Seaton Valley, Haltwhistle, Hexham, Prudhoe and Allendale are to be affected.
“I find this really concerning; the council is choosing to turn its back on a very vulnerable section of the people it serves. There is plenty of evidence about these services keeping young people away from antisocial behaviour and helping them make friends.
"In my view, this is a vital part of local authority work and should remain so.”
Independent group leader Coun Derek Kennedy, who represents the Hexham West ward, was also unhappy at the prospect of 12 youth workers being made redundant.
He added: "These cuts are heartless. Young people will pay the price for the council’s short-sightedness. I know many families who rely on youth service provision this just makes matters worse.”
And Liberal Democrat leader Jeff Reid said the decision was at odds with the administration's mission to tackle inequality.
The former council leader said: "This decision exposes the Conservatives to claims of hypocrisy. They say that their top priority is to tackle inequality.
"When youth engagement is at the very core of a fair and equal society, cutting it is short-sighted, to say the least.”
An equality impact assessment produced as part of the council's budget discussions said that savings were proposed within the budget "through the integration of staff employed to deliver youth activities into the 'Family Hub' provision".
The report went on to say that the funding made available would be used to "support the development of our 'family hub' offer". It added there was not expected to be a "significant adverse impact" but that the issue would be kept "under review". The document did not mention redundancies in this context.
Responding to the comments, Coun Sanderson said: "We are absolutely committed to providing first class services for our children and young people.
"That’s exactly why we’ve made these changes - to move forward to a new, 21st century young people's offer with more activities, more safe spaces and more support that will tackle inequalities. We are spending £3m in the next three years to reshape services for our young people through our Family Hubs.
"Across the county we have these facilities at the heart of our communities opening their doors to more and more families and young people. We’re also investing in brand new young people support workers which will be key in supporting our young people and their families.
"As part of this review, there will be changes to a small number of services that have been funded through the council. The 12 staff, comprising just over three full time posts, were fully consulted about these plans and we are now talking with local groups to explore ways their services can be maintained and supported, including funding opportunities.
"When many councils have completely stopped providing youth services, we continue to invest in ours."
Family hubs, which replaced previous Sure Start Centres, offer "universal and targeted services" to all families with children and young people. Northumberland is one of the first 14 local authorities to implement these new services.
The council has now said it will be hiring up to six new young people support workers, and that it will look to support affected local youth groups.
A spokesman for the authority said: "It is important to emphasise the Council is actually increasing, modernising and improving support for young people. Whilst just over three full time equivalent posts will be made redundant, we will be investing in a minimum of four new young people support workers which could increase to six posts.
“This is in addition to five new support posts created in schools, targeting support where it’s most needed. We understand any change can be challenging and that is why we are talking with local youth groups affected to look at ways their services can be supported through a range of funding opportunities.
“We believe our new Family Hub model creates an exciting opportunity to deliver excellent services that young people need now and in the future.”
