Councillors in the Bishops Castle area have expressed outrage that Shropshire Council intends to slash their already meagre allocation of money for youth services by 40%.
Cllr Heather Kidd (Shropshire Councillor for Chirbury and Worthen) explained: “We have already seen our youth services paired to the bone. This year we are supposed to be given an allocation of £3,000 for the Local Joint Committee to spend on youth services over an area of 200 square miles. This in place of an youth club and youth worker. Now the Council are proposing that an organisation they set up should £1,200 of this away in administrative costs!
” This is outrageous. This money is supposed to be spent on our young people not bureaucracy! As it is we can fund very little with £3,000 over 12 months. Cutting it by 40% will reduce youth provision to virtually nothing. Towns with larger allocations may be able to absorb a £1200 cut. We simply can not.”
Heather (who is also chair of the LJC) along with Cllrs Charlotte Barnes (Bishops Castle) and Nigel Hartin (Clun) have already raised this with the area Director who will look at possibilities for the area to deliver Youth Services independently without incurring these costs. They will also discuss this with the Parishes at the nest LJC planning meeting.
Heather concluded “Squeezing money down to this paltry sum will see the effective end of youth services in our area and probably much of the rest of the county as well.”