Youth Services Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
John Whitby
Main Page: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)Department Debates - View all John Whitby's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
(2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)
Having dedicated spaces, support and community for young people can transform the trajectory of someone’s life. I and many Members here, I am sure, benefited from having a youth provision. I took part in activities that I would not have done otherwise. The previous Government stripping funding away from local authorities was a travesty, because it meant that youth services, which are vital but mainly discretionary spend, were often one of the first things to be cut. Our child and adolescent mental health services are overstretched, and too often young people have been left to fall through the cracks. Investment in youth services is therefore not an extra; it is a form of frontline mental health support.
The need for funding for youth services in Derbyshire Dales is particularly clear. Since 2010, spending on youth services in Derbyshire has fallen by two thirds in real terms. Those cuts have had particularly damaging implications for rural areas, as young people in rural communities face limited public transport options and more challenging access to employment. Young people today are growing up experiencing the negative impacts of social media addiction alongside the loss of youth services. As a result, they are experiencing a toxic cocktail of challenges that are having an impact on their wellbeing. A YouGov poll found that more than 65% of adolescents said they had felt alone “often” or “sometimes” in the last fortnight. With youth centres and community spaces being closed across the country, it is no wonder that young people are crying out for support.
Since 2010, there has been a fall of more than 50% in the number of young people admitted to A&E with injuries sustained outside. Of course, that is a good thing, but it implies that young people are just not going out and participating activities as they used to. Youth services do not just provide a lifeline for young people; they also set them up with skills and support for life. Very often a youth worker could be the one who turns around a person’s life. [Interruption.] I am sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker—I have run out of time.