Shrewsbury Town Councillors have expressed their disappointment about the devastating loss of Youth Service funding for Shrewsbury young people from Shropshire Council. This follows Shropshire Council’s recent Cabinet decision to reduce their funding for youth services in Shrewsbury by over £55,000 compared to the previous year
Since 2015, Shrewsbury Town Council has become the principal provider of Youth Service provision in Shrewsbury when Shropshire Council announced its intentions to outsource the service. Large cuts in Shropshire Council funding followed. Shrewsbury Town Council decided to step in to support and manage youth activities in the town and over the years has developed its service to provide dedicated youth centre sessions, activities out on the streets as well as one-to-one mentoring sessions in schools
In November 2017, Shropshire Council consulted the public on its intentions to share up its £167k budget on an “evidence of need” with Shrewsbury showing the highest need and the greatest number of young people receiving £45,000, which was a cut from £81,000. However the town has now seen its funding cut to £25,000 following pressure from some rural areas despite there being much less evidence of need amongst their young people
Leader of the Town Council, Councillor Alan Mosley, expressed his dismay at the decision: “Since we developed Young Shrewsbury, we have seen noticeable improvements to youth service provision in the town. We have some of the most deprived areas in the county and some of the issues our young people have faced have been challenging. With our dedicated Youth & Community Development Worker, we have developed new ways of engaging with young people to help them make better life choices and help point them in the direction of being responsible adults.
“Funding from Shropshire Council has been cut from £81,000 to £25,000! This slashing of funding when we have already set our budgets for next year is a kick in the teeth for young people of this town. We will have to review how we continue to provide an effective service going forward. However, we greatly value our young people and believe that a high quality youth service is vital for all.”
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