Eastern councils lag on youth services

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.