At the same time as Cameron announced his massive privatisation plan for public services under the auspices of "Open Public Services", Kent County Council announced the slashing of youth service budgets by more than 50% along with a promise to outsource more of the service.
The detail on KCC's plans show that they intend to take £1.7m out the the youth budget, leaving just £1.2m. They are closing 24 youth centres across Kent including Shepway and Lenham in Maidstone and they making 64 people redundant.
Young people are being hit very hard by the recession, suffering the highest levels of unemployment, ridiculous rises in student fees and now they are seeing the youth service slashed and burned. What sort of message does this give to the next generation of leaders? I think it says that the Conservatives are profoundly uninterested in them.
This needs to be fought.Youth services are vital to the well being of our communities, for providing guidance to young people and for giving them wider support. There are also 64 families who are facing misery and hardship due to the ideological idiocy of the Conservative and Lib Dem cuts to public sector funding.
The full list of Youth Centre closures across Kent:
Ashford: XC Youth Centre, Sk8side Youth Centre
Canterbury: Whitstable Youth Centre
Dartford: The Bridge Youth Arts Centre
Dover: Linwood Youth Centre. Aylesham Youth Centre
Gravesham: Miracles Youth Centre, The Gr@nd
Maidstone: Shepway Youth Centre, Lenham Youth Centre
Sevenoaks: Edenbridge Community, Centre (opening 2012)
Shepway: Hythe Youth Centre
Folkestone: Youth Project
Swale: Sheerness County Youth Centre
Faversham: Youth Centre
Tonbridge & Malling: SAMAYS Youth Centre
Thanet: Concorde Youth Centre, Artwise Youth Centre
Tunbridge Wells: Mascalls Youth Centre
Green Party campaigner in Kent. Also a nurse, academic, former manager, writer, Druid, husband and father...
1 comment:
complete madness , the voluntary sector could take over some of these centres BUT there would be a lead in time & a need for continuation of funding until alternative finance sources can be developed (if possible) - could not see these being atractive to private sector although CIC's might give it a go still at least 2-3 years funding support would need to be made available...some of these centres are in key areas with respects to youth work like Shepway in maidstone & Whitstable .....cuts have to be made but this could just pass on the expense to other organisations/public sector bodies who have to pick up the pieces!
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