Zoë Garbett AM: “youth services shouldn’t be a postcode lottery”

Created on

10 October 2024

Zoë Garbett AM: "youth services shouldn't be a postcode lottery"

Following up on the Mayor's pledge to put the next generation of Londoners "front and centre" in his third term, this week Zoë Garbett AM challenged the Mayor over exactly how that commitment squares with continued cuts to funding for youth services across London. [1]

Adding to the research of former Assembly Member Siân Berry MP, Zoë presented the Mayor with her own research demonstrating the dire state of youth service budgets. [2] Key takeaways from Zoë's analysis include:

• Youth Services are a postcode lottery - Funding per child in some boroughs has fallen by 98 per cent since 2011, while others have increased 85 percent. [3]

• Overall budgets have fallen - While the picture is different in every borough, Zoë's data shows that (for those councils that provided data since 2011), budgets have decreased by £25 million in real terms. [4]

After their exchange, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett said:

"Youth services shouldn't be a postcode lottery.

"I've visited youth centres and have heard from young people, parents and grandparents how life saving the provision is. I know the Mayor agrees, but London's young people deserve more than to hope some wonderful volunteers fill the holes City Hall has left their borough with.

"Every young Londoner, whether they live in Harrow or Hounslow, Camden or Croydon, deserves real and sustained investment in youth services in every borough. Universality works great work for Free School Meals, it works great in the NHS, and it would work great for youth services - the Mayor must push the government to do the same here."

Zoë Garbett's full discussion with the Mayor can be viewed here.

Notes to editors

[1] Mayor announces £2 million investment package in a series of summer activities for young people ; Closure of more than a thousand youth centres could have lasting impact on society

[2] London's Youth Service Cuts 2011-2021: A Blighted Generation

[3] Boroughs who have supplied youth service budget data from 2011 to present inflation comparison

To calculate the 2011-12 budget plus inflation figures, the 2011-12 budgets provided by councils were run through the Bank of England's online Inflation Calculator comparing the 2011-12 budget in 2011 to prices as of April 2024, which was when the 2024-25 budget year began.

[4] Boroughs who have supplied youth service budget data from 2011 to present funding per child comparison

Under 18 population figures come from the Office for National Statistics "Mid-2023: 2023 local authority boundaries edition of this dataset edition of this dataset", release number: MYE23