Call for extra investment in youth services

A CAMPAIGNER and former Barwell councillor is calling for more investment in youth services in Hinckley and Bosworth.

Mathew Hulbert, who was the borough council’s children and young people’s champion from 2011 to 2015, is urging Leicestershire County Council to re-think cuts to out-of-school services such as youth clubs and streetbased work.

The Liberal Democrat spoke at a number of events across the county, arguing a lack of funding in youth services affects vulnerable people the most.

He said: “Young people didn’t cause the financial crash and aren’t responsible for the present Government’s failed austerity agenda.

“Councils should stop seeing these as easy and victimless cuts and instead see the damage often caused when young people, especially vulnerable young people, lose these youth services, and don’t then have anyone to turn to in times of need and end up relying on already over-stretched other services-such as the NHS to try and plug the gap.

“We should be investing in our young people not pulling the ladder from under them and taking an axe to every rung of it, as presently seems the case.”

A spokesman for Leicestershire County Council said: “The council continues to face significant financial pressures, but we remain fully committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our society and have re-focused our support for young people by better targeting services where they are most needed and complementing the work already being done by community groups and the voluntary sector.

“This support includes oneto-one and group sessions around issues which are important to young people and encourages them to better achieve as they move into young adulthood.

“We work very closely with young people who are at the cusp of offending by involving them in community activities where there are concerns about anti-social behaviour and a need to improve relationships.

“All this vital work is delivered in partnership with other agencies, including district councils.”