News

Councils in the east of England are spending less on youth services compared with the rest of the country, according to an audit by the National Youth Agency (NYA).

The fourth year of the NYA's annual audit of local authority youth services finds that while spending in the average authority has increased in most regions, spending in the eastern region has dropped from an average of £63 a head per year in 1997-8 to £49 in 1999-2000.

The audit adds that shire councils spend considerably less than London, metropolitan or unitary councils.

The report also points to the growing importance of funding from external, often short-term, sources for the youth service budget. In total, councils spent just over £256 million during 1999-2000 on their youth services, largely taken from their mainstream budgets. However, external funding had grown to £38 million - an increase of £10.5 million on the previous year.