Comprehensive Cuts - National Council for Voluntary Youth Services

longer supporting Hostel type projects. All their housing support, which prevented problems that can
lead to homelessness or institutional care, as well as five out of six youth and community projects, are to
be ended.
Children and Young People's Empowerment Project in Sheffield
The Children and Young People's Empowerment Project in Sheffield has lost £200,000, 40% of its
income, following cuts to local authority contracts. Their models, tools and training techniques have been
nationally recognised by the government and the National Youth Agency. 6 The cuts translate into a
reduction in their work with young people with disabilities and LGBT young people. They fear further cuts
which would hit other disadvantaged young people, such as BME and refugee and asylum seekers.
Wings South West
Wings South West work with young people in Bideford and the surrounding area of Northern Devon; one
of the most deprived rural regions in the UK. 7 They’ve lost £75,000, roughly 25% of funding, because of
cuts to local authority grants, the loss of youth sector development funds, and they also fear losing
further v funding. Their work with NEETs and those at risk of offending will end and, in an area where it
is less easy for others to pick up the pieces, these young people will have fewer opportunities to develop
skills and gain self esteem.
4. Overview of the cuts to central government programmes that have affected the VCYS
The first few months of the new government saw a number of schemes cut. The ending of the Future
Jobs Fund, which supported the creation of jobs for the young long-term unemployed, has greatly
affected the voluntary and community sector. For example, the NCVYS/CYPNow survey showed that
Berkshire Scout Enterprises have lost £300,000 from the Future Jobs Fund contracts being
discontinued. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has been asking its members to
submit details of cuts to an online spreadsheet, and both Hull and Ealing Councils for Voluntary Services
have commented on the detrimental impact of their ability to recruit staff following the ending of Future
Jobs Fund funding. 8
Other cuts to youth activities announced early on under the Coalition government include cuts to the
Playbuilder scheme and the early end of the Activity Agreement and Entry to Learning pilots. These
pilots offered young people intensive support and incentives to take part in activities that would help
them move into employment and training. A Guardian report on the cuts gave the following assessment
of the Activity Agreement pilots:
―[G]overnment-funded pilot schemes, such as the activity agreement, that were successfully engaging
with the most vulnerable and hard to reach young people, so-called Neets – not in education,
employment or training – are being ended early. In eight areas of the UK, 16- and 17-year-olds facing
tough circumstances such as mental health issues, teenage pregnancy, homelessness and substance
misuse were given learning and training opportunities, plus one-on-one support from a key worker.
Managers at the West Yorkshire pilot, who had expected the programme to be rolled out nationally, say
60% of the 3,600 young people they have helped have moved into education and training.‖ 9
6 http://www.chilypep.org.uk/about_us.htm
7 http://www.wingscharity.com/
8 Crowdsourcing the Cuts, NCVO
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Al3G3FWusZ9cdEV3cHFjS0YtZUgwS2FxVHBFY0hVcUE&hl=en&singl
e=true&gid=0&output=html
9 How the coalition's cuts are affecting public services, The Guardian (8 September 2010)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/08/how-are-cuts-affecting-public-services
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