Birmingham youth support workers 'to be axed' and youth centres 'sold off' in planned cuts
At least 44 jobs will go and landmark centres could go up for sale in a move to cut costs in the city's already stripped back youth service, it has been revealed. The news was relayed to anxious youth workers by the city's children's services director Sue Harrison.
In a briefing, she told them that 37 youth support workers were being axed, all vital in running youth clubs and activities. "The loss of these roles will have an unprecedented effect on the services that Birmingham Youth Service can offer the young people of our amazing city," said a spokesperson for the Save Birmingham Youth Services campaign.
Further roles will be lost in essential administrative and business roles as part of the proposals. The cuts proposed come amid deep concern about the futures of young people in the city, especially in areas of high deprivation where opportunities are otherwise limited.
READ MORE: Birmingham 'abandoning teens' as huge youth service cuts unveiled
Our recent project 'Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency' highlighted the need to protect youth workers and the service for the sake especially of the 46% of children growing up in poverty. One of our eight asks is that youth services become a statutory provision, giving it some protection from cuts like these.
The cuts come in the wake of yet more horrific news about youth violence in and around the city, allied to rising fears about the impact of criminal exploitation on Birmingham's children. Youth workers say the cuts mean their much hailed preventive and enrichment work that diverts young people away from trouble and opens up new opportunities will almost wholly disappear.
"We fear that down the line this will be reflected on as a terrible mistake - we are abandoning young people. This is a powder keg that will eventually explode and we will look back on this as the catalyst," said one. "There is a belief taking hold that unqualified volunteers might somehow be able to replicate our work and experience, or that we can dump more on already overstretched schools. Given our young population, we should be striving to be the best, not a second rate imitation."
The savings proposals also seem to contradict a pledge from the new Labour Government to invest in youth work. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently stood with actor and campaigner Idris Elba to launch an anti knife crime coalition that had youth workers at its heart. The city has recently taken up the unwanted title of 'knife crime capital' after a shocking year of incidents involving teens and young people, both as victims and perpetrators of knife attacks.
The West Midlands force area as a whole reported 178 knife offences per 100,000 people between April 2023 and March 2024 - the equivalent of around 5,000 incidents in a year.
The council announced the launch of an independent review of its youth services earlier this year to decide what to cut and what to save as part of swingeing cuts.
The entire budget for the city's youth, 14-19s and careers services was to be cut by two thirds, and limited to just £1.2 million a year - a third of its existing spend. That's the equivalent of just £7 for every young person aged 10 to 19 in the city. The limited funding available is expected to focus on targeted work with smaller numbers of problem and particularly at-risk youngsters.
Staff who spoke to Birmingham Live on condition of anonymity revealed the running costs of just two flagship youth centres - The Lighthouse in Aston and The Factory in Longbridge - would take up more than half of the entire budget (£700,000).
As well as learning of proposed job cuts, staff say they were also told at the briefing that every youth centre would now be subject to an "expression of interest", meaning third parties who want to buy them will be notified. Landmark new venues in prominent locations, like the Factory, are most likely to get snapped up.
READ MORE: The scandalous truth about Birmingham's child poverty emergency laid bare
Save Birmingham Youth Service (SBYS) is a collective of youth workers and supporters who have been fighting the planned cuts. "This service has a long history of delivering high-quality youth work and supporting young people in our city. It operates 18 City Council-run youth projects and centres, particularly in areas of high deprivation. The potential closures of these will have a detrimental impact on the lives of young people in Birmingham."
On the future of centres, they say: "These centres and projects provide safe spaces for Birmingham's young people and are run by professionally qualified youth workers who dedicate their lives to improving the lives of young people. It is a lifeline for many young people who rely on its services for support, guidance, and safety. The loss would be immeasurable - not just in terms of facilities closed or programmes cut - but in futures disrupted and opportunities lost."
In response to our inquiries, Sue Harrison, the council's Strategic Director for Children and Families, said: “Consultation has commenced on a redesign of the council’s Youth Service aimed at creating a service model that is sustainable and provides a consistent approach to youth services across the city that is more aligned with other services working with young people.
“We appreciate that any meeting where staff reductions are proposed can be difficult for staff and we have signposted support from managers as well as the council’s Employee Assistance Programme, for those who wish to take it up. Every member of staff will be invited to a one-to-one discussion as part of the consultation process.”