Youth services are being “dismantled” and vital 1-2-1 support scrapped for Bristol’s most vulnerable young people, causing “irreversible damage”, a council meeting heard. North, east and central Bristol will suffer most as funds are redirected to the south of the city, youth workers fear.
The city council is cutting money and changing the way it funds youth work, from long-term contracts to a grants system, but denies 1-2-1 sessions are being scrapped altogether and insists it remains committed to giving kids the best start in life, while the forthcoming South Bristol Youth Zone will generate more money for the sector. Unison area organiser Steve Mills told Bristol City Council cabinet that the decision would have a serious impact on current main provider Creative Youth Network (CYN), its services, staff who will face redundancy and young people who need the support.
He said: “The prospect of the current 1-2-1 provision being cut or disappearing completely in a time where young people need this youth service more than ever is irresponsible and could cause irreversible damage. We have some very experienced and motivated staff who could be lost forever to the service.
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“It's good we are going to have a youth hub in South Bristol but services in east, north and central Bristol will be in decline. This is not the time to be cutting youth services.”
CYN chief executive Mark Coates told the meeting on Tuesday, March 7, that the city and his organisation had an “outstanding” youth service as officially recognised by the National Youth Agency. "But as a result of tonight’s decisions, that service will be dismantled and replaced by something very different and much smaller scale,” he said.
“The new grants will not fund any 1-2-1 support for young people. Funding is of course ridiculously tight, and we fully accept 1-2-1 support has to reduce.
“But to discontinue it entirely feels profoundly wrong. Those who need it are the most vulnerable young people in this city, and their service is about to be discontinued.
“From our 1-2-1 caseload is a significant number of often very complex safeguarding cases for which CYN is very often the lead agency. There is a real risk of inadequate safeguarding if you do not have adequately focused support for the most vulnerable young people.”
A statement signed by 29 local organisations said: “The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Bristol is alarmed by the level of cuts to the play and youth funding from Bristol City Council (BCC). This proposal would lead to BCC investment into the youth and play VCSE reducing by an annual average in the region of 30 per cent.
“If this funding cut gets passed by cabinet, there will be a significant and irreversible impact on the VCSE. There will be a significant reduction in the amount of services and spaces available to children, young people and families and a reduction in the amount of additional funding we can lever into the city.”
Elle Williams, a 1-2-1 youth worker, told the meeting: “CYN has offered an excellent service to young people. In the proposals we would be losing this excellent service and with it harming one of the most disproportionately affected members of society post-pandemic – children and young people.
“North Bristol young people who are often in crisis due to poor mental health, isolation, discrimination and bullying won’t have a 1-2-1 service to go to because the funding won’t be there. I can’t see how those 1-2-1s that we work with currently are going to go to these youth groups you’re talking about if they can’t even leave their bedrooms.
“The 1-2-1 work is integral in getting young people to youth groups in the first place.” Deputy mayor Cllr Asher Craig (Labour, St George West) replied: “Young people in north Bristol are considered equally in our proposals.
“Work is ongoing to agree funding splits across the areas and the north will not be disadvantaged. Indeed our medium-term commitment is to fund a second Youth Zone in the north of the city and we hope this is taken forward by a future administration.
“One-to-one support is an unsustainable model and our intention is to move towards a blended youth work model that delivers support earlier. Group activities and detached work from community-based voluntary and community sector organisations will allow young people to build ongoing relationships rather than short-term referral-based relationships.
“The report I’m bringing today was co-produced with over 70 youth sector organisations. This is your report, it’s not just my report.
“Everything in this report is down to the conversations, negotiations and collaboration we’ve had. Our commitment to the Youth Zone is essential given the level of funding that our investment triggers, and in an ever-diminishing envelope of funding it’s crucial that we look at alternative models and external investment.
“Our future co-produced offer does include 1-2-1 support. It may not be at the same level, the money is not there.
“It wasn’t a decision we wanted to make but unfortunately have been forced to make. The council will do everything it can to work with CYN and its staff so that we retain their skills for children and young people in the city.”
A report to cabinet said: “The reduction in BCC funding means that we cannot secure a like-for-like service. This means the number of children and young people supported directly by BCC may reduce.
“We are looking at options that change the delivery of youth services so that there is less 1-2-1 support and more group support.” It said the annual budget for youth services would drop from £1.42million in 2023/24 to £1.23million the following year and then to £825,000 from 2025/26 when £400,000 moves to fund the revenue contribution to the Youth Zone for three years.
It said the Youth Zone would bring in 70 per cent match funding – £900,000 to the council’s £400,000 investment.
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