Unite is predicting major job losses in youth services among local authorities A major rally will launch a campaign by the country’s biggest union against “catastrophic” cuts in youth services.
The event in Solihull, West Midlands, comes as Unite warned that one in four youth services in England faced spending cuts of up to 30%.
The union said some councils, such as Norfolk, Suffolk, Bucks and Manchester, planned to cut the services completely.
The Department for Education said it was up to each council to decide where to target spending on youth services.
A survey by Unite of more than 40 local councils suggested that youth services would be hit the hardest by reductions in government funding.
The union warned of cuts of £100m from youth service budgets over the next year, with the loss of 3,000 jobs.
Unite national officer for youth workers, Doug Nicholls, said: “We desperately need the people of this country to lend their backing to the future of this country – our young people.
“If this unthinking cut is forced through, every part of the country will suffer from shire to city.
“Worse still, our collective futures will be hurt as, once again, young people are abandoned by the government.”
The Department for Education said it wanted to see councils working more closely with community and voluntary groups “who often have a raft of expertise in how to create fun and affordable youth services”.
“We have also seen some great examples of councils working in partnership with the private sector to design sustainable youth projects which benefit the whole community,” said a spokeswoman.
The rally will begin at noon on Saturday at Solihull’s Renewal Centre.
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