Youth Services

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 1:57 pm on 13 January 2021.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 1:57, 13 January 2021

There is obviously a great deal of concern about the viability of youth services going forward. A National Youth Agency report recently highlighted that nearly 70 per cent of youth clubs in England may be forced to close because of the Tory-led austerity squeeze on their finances via local authorities, which have forced them to cut services to the bone. I appreciate that in Wales we have endeavoured to protect local authorities from that UK austerity programme, and I'm extremely grateful that Cardiff council and indeed voluntary organisations like the YMCA have continued to provide outreach to young people on the street, even though they haven't been able to continue to deliver any support indoors during the pandemic, but we know about the rise in self-harm and suicidal thoughts amongst young people, and the fact that the closure of schools differentially impacts much more severely on disadvantaged families. How do you think we can maximise the use of this budget to ensure that both statutory youth services and the support from the voluntary and community sector can still be there for young people to help them recover from the devastating impact of this pandemic?